Draco and the Eight Tasks
by The Time Stop Corporation
Summary: Hoping for some peace and quiet after the disastrous war a few months ago, Draco finds himself face to face with one last year at Hogwarts where he has to handle one last attempt for house unity.
1. Chapter 1

Wang: What? Multiple fics?

Shadow: Dear God we're doing this nonsense again.

Time Stop: Quiet you two. Think of it more of an excess of ideas. Ideas that we couldn't fit into other stories.

Wang: But that's no fun.

Shadow: You really are scraping the bottom of the barrel for excuses, aren't you?

Static: Well, he came up with you so…

Wang: Ha! Burn!

Shadow: …

Time Stop: As usual we don't own anything that you recognize.

Chapter 1: Return to Hogwarts

"Welcome back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Welcome back those who decided to return to Hogwarts to continue your education. And a very warm welcome to you new students that are joining us for the first time. It gladdens me to know that after the destructive war that occurred last year we can move on together to a brighter and better future. Now that the sorting is finished I have a few short announcements about this upcoming year. Now, until a suitable Headmaster has been found, I will be the temporary Headmistress."

He looked at the old crone, as she stood where that old fart had once stood. All around the Great Hall students were applauding her as if she had won the Quidditch World Cup. He fought a frown. He wasn't too happy another Gryffindork had become Headmaster, even if this was a temporary position.

"I would now like to introduce to you all Professor Smith, from America." A tall, thin man with a comically large head stood up. "He will be teaching Transfiguration in my place."

He scoffed at the man. An American? In Hogwarts? That couldn't be good. Just how bloody low did they have to stoop to find professors this year?

"And our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher is Professor Weber from Germany. He will also be our temporary Head of Gryffindor House in my place." A squat man with a wide handlebar mustache the color of red sandstone stood up.

He had to keep from laughing. The two new professors looked to be the exact opposite of each other. And now that they were seated next to each other the differences were even more apparent. It was more comical than the fact that Hogwarts had to resort to outsiders to teach their students.

"My final announcement is that, once again, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden for a reason. Bon Appetite."

Food appeared before the students and staff and the cacophony began. He looked at the fellow Slytherins around him dig in. Many of them pointing and joking at their new professors. The black man across from him caught his attention.

"You alright mate?"

He nodded slightly. "Yeah I'm fine, Blaise."

"You sure? You seem even more distracted than on the train ride in."

Distracted? Bloody hell yeah he was distracted. He had better things to do than stay here. If that old crone didn't have to show him to his room later, he would be with –

"Draco!"

He looked back at Blaise. "What?" He snapped.

"You're distracted." His fellow Slytherin smirked and leaned back.

Draco Malfoy sighed and tried to keep his calm. He was one of the few returning seventh years this year. That made this his eighth year at Hogwarts. That made him almost as old as the professors. He scanned the tables. Other than himself, only Blaise had joined him in Slytherin. He cringed slightly. Correction: Pansy Parkinson had also returned to Hogwarts. But after that very forthright declaration on how much she pissed him off, she shouldn't be a bother. He hoped.

"Looks like we're the only ones that returned this year." Blaise commented, also looking about. "Other than Parkinson."

Draco scowled. "And it looks like we're not the only ones who decided to come along for the ride."

Blaise twisted in his seat and followed Draco's eyes. "Oh, them."

Draco nodded slowly. "Them."

More specifically it was only her. Granger had returned to Hogwarts. Honestly, couldn't that be more of a surprise to anyone? She was a perfect student, minus breaking the rules to save the world, which the professors adored. Much to Draco's delight Potter and Weasley had decided not to attend Hogwarts. Instead of the chosen one and her own personal boy toy, the seats on either side had been taken by the youngest Weasley and Longbottom. Just how quaint.

"At least Potter and Weasel isn't there."

"Please," He scoffed, "it's a wonder that they even passed some of their classes. You honestly think that they would come back willingly to learn?"

"Very good point."

The small talk faded away. Other than that small group of Gryffindorks, nothing was intriguing enough to him to make him speak again. Which was good. Less people in his year the better. He hoped that the younger years would still fear him and obey him. After all, all he had to do is show off his tattoo to them and they should freeze right up. But as of late his attention drifted back to the most pressing matter. He had business to take care of, business that couldn't be taken care of whilst he was at dinner.

Time passed agonizingly slowly for Draco. He often caught himself staring up at the faculty table, as if willing McGonagall to hurry up. For Merlin's sake! Most of these kids were fat enough as it was; couldn't they end this pointless feast and move on with life?

Finally the last of the desserts disappeared. Professor McGonagall stood up and the Great Hall quieted. "Prefects, if you will escort our new students to their dormitories, seventh years, please remain behind."

Whispers of confusion spread throughout the hall, but the students did as they were bade. Former sixth years sat spread about, a few former seventh years sprinkled here and there. With even less people in the Great Hall it was more painfully evident for Draco that not many decided to return to Hogwarts to repeat their final year.

And out of those people only a scant few actually experienced the war the way he had.

"Now that we are alone, a few things must be said." The Headmistress looked much older suddenly, more worn and more frail. "Since Voldemort's death," many of the students shuddered at the name, "there have been more students than we had initially prepared for attending. That said we have decided for the duration of this year, and perhaps in the future we shall open the old north tower."

"But professor," A Retardclaw interrupted. "That's supposed to be used for storage."

"Partly correct." The old crone's lips pursed. "A long time ago when magic still ran strong in the world, there were many students who came to Hogwarts. That was before some magical institutions were built and before many witches and wizards home-schooled their children. But with the changing times, less and less students came to Hogwarts. Our northern tower used to be a special dormitory for our prefects and our heads. We decided that in light of current events that our seventh year students shall be given reign of this space.

"That will also explain that none of you present are prefects. It is hard to watch and to guide the younger students if all of you are housed in another tower. Instead, of prefects, we have our Head Boy and Head Girl. They will work with the prefects and will be the go-between between the seventh year students and the professors."

There were murmurs of apprehension from the students. Draco could only smirk. If they only knew how lucky they had it.

"Our Head Girl is Miss Hermione Granger."

The Gryffindork stood up, the Head Girl pin clearly visible on her robes. The students clapped enthusiastically, minus the Slytherins. Draco didn't even have to guess that she would get Head Girl. Other than a few broken rules, she was the perfect student.

"And for our Head Boy, it is none other than Mister Draco Malfoy."

That got the room gasping in shock. How the bloody hell did _He_ get Head Boy? And with his track record to boot. Draco smirked but didn't move a muscle other than that. Let them look at him, let them watch. The sooner they realize that he was unapproachable the sooner they would leave him alone. The sooner he could be alone.

His smirk did get a bit wider when he saw Granger's shocked face of indignation. She probably couldn't wrap that bushy head of hers around the reason why he would come back to Hogwarts. That was alright with him, let her think and ponder. He didn't have the time for mysteries or for her questions.

"Now if you would all follow me, I will take you to your new dormitory."

While she looked feeble the professor was anything but, as she led the way swiftly out the Great Hall and to the North Tower. Behind her thronged the students, past rivalries forgotten temporarily with the unexpected new living quarters for the year before them. The North Tower wasn't that far from the Great Hall, but the entrance they had to take was on the sixth floor; which made quite a long trek indeed.

"The password is Fifth House." The Professor enunciated. "It may be spoken aloud or in the mind; your guardian is uncaring on how you present it."

She neared a large statue of the Hogwarts Crest. The crest swung inward and stairs popped up from the ground. Draco kept his impressed feelings in check. It was out of the way and the guardian looked rather impressive. The less people who could bother him the better.

He entered into the North Tower and glanced about. It looked to be a typical common room, large with comfy looking couches and chairs spread about. A large roaring fireplace stood directly across the entrance. Four entrances were spotted along the walls. One to the left and one to the right, with two on either side of the fireplace.

When all of the students were inside, there were room for a few more bodies inside this single room alone, the professor spoke again. "To the left are the boys dormitories, and to the right the ladies. It goes by house: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. From top to bottom on either side. Below us is the library, through that door there."

"What about that last entrance?" Draco groaned softly. It was that stupid Retardclaw again, asking stupid questions.

"Those are for the Head Boy and Girl. They have their own rooms if they wish." Jealously rippled through the crowd. "Perks of the job." She smiled with her thin lips. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will retire. I hope that all of you will do the same." She glanced at them in turn and left without another word.

Ignoring the chatter that erupted, Draco headed for the last doorway. To the right of the fireplace he went up the first two steps and met a stone wall. He did have to smile a full smile for the first time in a long time. The old crone knew her stuff. He stepped through the wall and came out in a small landing.

The wall was enchanted to transport the person to the other side, much like at King's Cross. However, unlike at King's Cross only a few people could access this special wall. The stipulation was a wand pass. Only the professors and the Head Boy and Head Girl could have access currently. Though, a scowl appeared on his face, Granger would probably bring her little Gryiffindork friends up here.

On the small landing were two doors, facing opposite each other. A large B was carved above one door and a large G above the other. Draco entered his room. It was sparsely furnished with dark spruce and with satin green accents. To one side stood a door, presumably a private bath. To the other side he took his full attention.

But only for a second.

"Patience." He whispered to himself. He closed the door behind him and drew his wand. He waved his wand, muttering spells under his breath. When he was done, the most powerful defenses he could conjure protected his room. That included another wand access combination lock.

He strode to the other door, and weaved even more spells on this door. This one was deadlier than the first. If anyone had actually made it this far, he would be impressed. This door included a lock only he could open, and a nasty surprise to anyone who wasn't him. He was pretty sure the professors would forgive him of that spell if it ever went off.

He opened the door. A frail house elf bowed as he came in. "Master Malfoy." The elf said.

"How is she?"

"She ate not too long ago, she sleeps now." The elf bowed lower.

"Good." Draco sighed in relief. "You may leave."

"Yes, Master Malfoy."

"Thank you." Draco whispered. The elf hesitated, then disappeared in a soft crack.

Dressed in periwinkle blue, this room was almost too bright for him. In the middle of the room sat a crib. Draco went to its side and looked down. Inside lay his daughter still asleep despite the cracking of the house elf's disapparition. He smiled. He relaxed, collapsing in the wooden rocking chair next to the crib.

He fell asleep while watching her.

Time Stop: Please Review!

Static: Unlike our other Potter fic, this one will won't end after six chapters.

Wang: So another long fic?

Shadow: Yes, Wang, another longer fic.

Wang: Yay!


	2. Chapter 2

Static: We might have some bad news for you.

Shadow: If y'all were expecting Draco to get it on with any of our leading ladies you're wrong.

Wang: Well, he did get it on.

Shadow: What.

Wang: He has a kid.

Shadow: True…But you won't see him getting it on with anyone in the story, capishe?

Time Stop: Are you guys done yet?

Static: I sure hope they are. I'm already getting a headache.

Time Stop: As usual, we don't own a thing.

Chapter 2: No Quidditch?

He awoke several times to her crying during the night. Each time he would hold her and feed her. Each time he would rock her back to sleep. Each time he would slump back into his chair and watch her until he passed out. By the time morning came, he was thoroughly haggard. In his reflection in the mirror he saw a tired, unkempt young man with stubble popping out from his chin. He looked at the clock on the wall.

"It's only six?" He muttered. "That's too bloody early."

He stood up. To the right of the door stood the changing station, something he had brought with him when he had come. He bent down in front of it and opened one of its doors. He brought out a potion and closed the door. He unstopped the cork and drank deeply. Energy instantly coursed through his veins. He set the potion down and looked back at the mirror.

The dark circles that were below his eyes were now gone, and his eyes weren't as bloodshot anymore. He took out his wand and waved it a few times. The first spell freshened up his appearance, giving him an illusion that he had bathed and put on cologne. The second spell shaved his face and combed his hair. The third cleaned his robes and discarded any odour. The fourth brushed his teeth, leaving a fabricated mint taste inside.

Self-grooming spells had become a life saver for him.

And Pepperup Potions.

She started to gurgle, and he was at her crib side in an instant.

"Good morning, Princess." He whispered.

He reached down and scooped her into his arms. She gurgled appreciatively, before a puzzling look came to her face. A second later a loud rumbling came from her diaper. Draco held her at arm's length.

"You are a very stinky princess." He muttered.

According to every book he had read, magic shouldn't be used on the child for the first year or so. However, medical emergencies and licensed healers may use spells on the baby. Draco was neither of those. But, as the hassle of not using magic to scourgify the diaper was all too real, he actually preferred to clean his child by hand.

That was the way that she would preferred it anyway.

Tears threatened to fill his eyes. With practiced motions, he robotically cleaned his daughter and exchanged the diaper for a new one. He dropped it into a small can next to the changing station. He could clean it properly later tonight.

She started fussing again. Draco reached around into the cupboard and pulled out a small bottle. He held her and fed her and whispered sweet nothings to her. He spent the early morning feeding and just being with her.

A large crack sounded in the room. Draco looked up from his baby. The house elf was there, bowing low.

"Keep it down." Draco hissed. He looked back down to her. "She just went back to sleep."

"Of course, sir." The house elf bowed low again.

Slowly and gingerly, Draco put his daughter back in her crib. He watched her with the house elf for a few moments.

"I will be back as soon as my classes is over."

"Yes sir."

Draco left the room. He turned back to gaze at the crib, before closing the door softly between them. His visage sagged a moment before it returned to a familiar sneer. He waved his wand and his bag came to him. He didn't bother to check to see if his books were inside. All he knew was that he had some bullshit classes. And if it was anything like last year and the year before, he would be with the same students, save for the prior sixth years.

That meant that he would be in class with Granger and her little Griffindork friends.

Just great.

He took one look in the mirror. Satisfied his grooming spells had done their job, he left his room. Closing the door behind him he was face to face with Granger.

"Malfoy."

"Granger." He responded. As much as he wanted to retort with his usual bravado, the Pepperup Potion had stopped working its magic. As a result his words were a bit subdued. He silently cursed the potions he had bought from that hack of a wizard from Knockturn Alley.

"I'm surprised you decided to show back here at Hogwarts after what you did."

"I have my reasons." He smirked. "Now if you may, I have a breakfast to eat."

"I don't like this anymore than you do."

He stopped turning and glanced back at her. She had her arms crossed as she stared at him under a bushy cloud of hair. He noticed her wand close to her hand.

"I don't think any of us like this."

"Just don't ruin this for me."

"Ruin what?"

"My final year of Hogwarts."

He almost snorted. She was worried about that? That was cute, Granger. Only you would be worried about something like that.

"We need to talk about patrols and Hogsmede visits."

"I don't give a rat's arse."

"Listen –"

He spun to look at her fully, shoving a finger in her face. "Listen here Granger. I don't give a single bloody crap to that bull. You decide what you want. But get one thing straight. I'm not spending my free time wandering the corridors after dark. I have much better things to do then."

Her face turned as red as her house colors. She pushed his finger out of her face. "Then perhaps I should talk to Headmistress McGonagall about this."

"Go ahead." Draco smirked. "In fact, I'll talk to her myself." He turned away from the Gryffindork leaving her just a bit more than confused.

He entered the common room a second later and set out. It was still early, and most of the students in Hogwarts would just be getting out of bed now. But thanks to his wanderings the previous year, he knew that the Great Hall was already serving food for early comers like himself. He walked a little faster, as if time would hurry quicker if he were to get there faster.

That and once he had food in him he could properly be a little awake.

Outside the Great Hall stood a message board. It was much like the ones in the common rooms, and it displayed information pertaining to the students. Unlike the common room's board where it showed information pertaining to the house, this one was a bit more general. There was a list of banned contraband (mostly Weasley products,) a list of various clubs, and something about a lost toad.

And a new one that appeared as soon as Draco neared it. Half curious, he glanced at it. Then he stopped and fully read the flyer.

"What in Merlin's name is going on?" Draco muttered to himself. He looked about, as if McGonagall would suddenly appear and tell him what was happening.

Not finding anyone about, he resigned himself to enter the Great Hall. Inside he spotted the old crone already sitting at the Professor's Table. He walked up to it. She watched him as he did. He stopped in front of her and planted his hands on the table.

"What in Merlin's name do you mean no Quidditch?"

She pursed her lips at him. "I thought, Mr. Malfoy, that you were far too busy this year with other activities to play." She sipped from her tea cup.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "That didn't mean I didn't want to watch the games."

She set down her cup. "The answer to your question, and the question of the rest of the student body will take place at supper tonight."

He looked at her. "Really?" He forced as much bitter anger he could into that one word.

"Yes. Though, I do need to have a meeting with you and Miss. Granger. I believe both of you have a free period after breakfast, if you don't mind stopping by."

Draco scowled. "That free time I was going to spend—"

"And if you would tell Miss. Granger about our meeting that would be wonderful." McGonagall cut him off, a smile on her lips.

Draco scowled again. "Fine. But I want answers."

"All in due time."

He stormed off, stomping to his seat. Trickle by trickle, other students entered the Great Hall. They whispered excitedly to each other, while others spoke in confused tones. He shook his head. By supper, the whole school would have known about the decision.

Blaise sat in front of him. "You saw the news?"

Draco nodded. "Not happy about it either."

The other Slytherin scooped eggs and sausage onto his plate. "She's got to be bat-shite crazy. The school'll riot."

"I don't think so."

"You don't?"

Draco inched closer in his seat to Blaise. "That old crone has to have something up her sleeve. I'm going to find out what."

Blaise smiled. "That's the Draco I know. You mind spilling some secrets when you're all done?"

Draco laughed. "Nope."

Blaise's face fell.

"She's going to tell the whole school tonight."

"But you're going to know early."

"If I play my cards right."

"You're a right git."

Draco smirked. "Well, that's the Draco you know."

Blaise groaned around a mouthful of sausage. "But not the one I love."

The two of them finished breakfast in silence. He kept tabs on Granger during the meal. Weasley was complaining about something very loudly, and Granger could only give her shrugs as a response. It was almost comical.

Almost as one, the students around Draco got up. Classes were to start soon and the students with their schedules in hand went off. Several students, mostly the seventh years who had similar schedules, had free period first thing on Wednesdays. Granger was still sitting down, talking to both Longbottom and Weasley.

Deliberately, Draco stood up and took even measured steps to the Gryffindork table. Longbottom noticed him first. As he came closer, the Gryffindork nudged the other two and they stared at him.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Weasley barked. Well, more of shouted. It was hard to tell what she was trying to do. She reminded him of a tiny dog trying to stand its ground.

He smirked. "Come, Granger."

"Who are you to tell—"

He cut off Longbottom. "I talked to McGonagall." He could see her face change from guarded to curious. "She wants to meet with both of us, now."

Granger stood up. Weasley put a hand on her arm. "I'm fine, Ginny." Granger glanced down at her friend. "I can handle Malfoy."

Longbottom chimed in. "I sure hope you can handle a ferret."

That sent Weasley and himself giggling. Granger started off, to the exit of the Great Hall. Draco caught up to her shortly and fell in beside her. Several younger students gasped as they saw the two bitter enemies walking next to each other. Malfoy smirked. Granger ignored him.

They walked in an uncomfortable silence to the Headmistress's Office. Normal insults were ignored. Either Granger had taken a vow of silence, or she was just as intrigued as he was about this most unexpected meeting.

Ten minutes later and they arrived at the gargoyle guarding the way. "First Task." Granger spoke. The gargoyle moved aside to reveal a winding staircase. Draco mounted first, and took the stairs with heavy stomps. He wasn't happy about this meeting, when he could be with his daughter instead.

They came to a door. He opened and went in without ceremony. McGonagall sat behind her desk, and put down the book as he stepped into her office.

"Glad you two could make it." Draco concealed his frown well, but displeasure still radiated from him. "Take a seat."

Granger and he took seats from the chairs that sat in front of her desk. The old woman sighed, and took the glasses from her face. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Draco watched her in silence.

"Professor? You called us?" Granger spoke quietly.

"Undoubtedly you have heard the news, Miss. Granger." She spoke finally. "I know that Mr. Malfoy has."

"About Quidditch?"

"The lack of Quidditch this year." McGonagall corrected. "I was going to make an announcement this evening at supper about the details of the news. However I have decided that you two should know more in case your fellow students come to ask. Though, I wish that you keep this privy until after tonight's supper."

Draco raised an eyebrow. What was she on about? For the first time that he knew her, the old crone looked almost absent-minded. As much as he hated the former Gryffindork Head of House, it was a look that he didn't like.

"Understood, Professor." Granger spoke immediately. They both turned to Draco and he nodded.

"I'm here for my own curiosity, Professor." He said.

"As you both know too well, the war from last spring was devastating." Draco ignored the images that sprang into mind. "Since last May, the teachers have been very busy working with the Ministry on repairing our school. Due to the amount of damage and the nature of the damage we had, we needed to make sacrifices. The Ministry itself was badly crippled, and couldn't spare many wizards and witches to help us. We only finished repairs to the castle itself yesterday morning. If you noticed the grounds as you came in, the Quidditch Field and the grounds are still in disarray.

"As acting Headmistress, we had to make sacrifices on what would most benefit our students. Quidditch, while being quintessential to our school, was decided to be put on the back burner. Even now, we have Ministry Officials working with us right now to fix the grounds. We expect that the damage should be repaired by the end of this calendar year."

"So we can still have Quidditch." Draco spoke. "That's still half a season we have."

"There can still be pick-up games of Quidditch." McGongall said. "Madam Hooch has agreed to referee those games. However, there's an idea that has come to the table."

"Idea?" Granger asked.

"It was one of Dumbledore's," McGonagall sighed. "He always had this hatched at the back of his brain. He wished, once all of this was over that we would go along with this. I had agreed."

Draco glanced at the portrait of the late professor. It was conspicuously empty.

"It was Dumbledore's?" Granger leaned forward. "What did he have planned?"

"A series of tasks. He was thinking something along the lines of the Triwizard Tournament, but open for more students. And only for our school."

Draco scoffed. "Like we could house anything grand like that with this school." Both women looked at him. "Have you seen the grounds? It's a nightmare."

"He intended for these tasks open from fifth year to seventh year. And with no Quidditch this year to entertain the students, this will take its place."

"Tasks. Like, fighting dragons?"

McGonagall waved her hand. "Nothing too extreme. As you know, we have five Core Classes here at Hogwarts; Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration. We also have six electives; Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, History of Magic, and Muggle Studies. Each month we would have a task styled after either one of the Core Classes or a pair of Elective Classes."

"Wait. You're telling me this is some sort of extra credit?" Draco stood up. "Count me out."

"I'm not here to convince you, Mr. Malfoy, so sit down." Grudgingly he followed her instructions.

"But is it extra credit, professor?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. While O's and E's and A's and such will not be handed out, there will be prizes. Taking first in a task will give extra points that will help your overall score for that subject. Taking multiple firsts or seconds or thirds will multiply that bonus."

"But what's the catch?" He looked at the old crone. "This is Dumbledore's idea. He wouldn't do something like this without some grand plan behind it all. Something like inter house unity or some shite like that."

McGonagall ignored his language. "In fact, that is indeed what he wants." Draco groaned. "Teams of four to eight will compete in each task. At least one member per house must be on a team to qualify, no more than two members of the same house on one team."

"So more people the better?" Granger asked.

"Not necessarily. Sometimes it will easier to compete with more members, sometimes with fewer. Depends on the specifics for each task. Now, sign-ups will be posted by the Great Hall. Only fifth year to seventh year students may sign up. The first task will be at midnight in two weeks time, on the Friday."

Granger nodded. "Is there anything else Professor?"

McGonagall nodded. "Do you have a patrol schedule lined up?"

Granger nodded. "Here," and handed over a piece of parchment.

The Professor glanced at it, her eyes darting over the names and assignments. After a long moment of silence she looked up. "Sebastian Swallow is a bright young man. Give half of Mr. Malfoy's hours to Mr. Swallow."

"What?" Granger stood up. "But, Professor—"

"No, no," Draco stood as well. "Please, do."

The old crone glanced his way before looking back at Granger. "Mr. Swallow had owled me earlier this year after he found out he would be a Prefect. He expressed his desire and his exuberance. Mr. Malfoy has a few tasks he has to attend to." Her tone lowered, as if to hide it from him and to only tell Granger. "Part of keeping a close eye on him." Her voice got louder. "As such, he will be indisposed on weekends. Have him on the schedule at least four nights during the week, but give him three nights instead of the usual two off."

Granger nodded, as if she understood exactly what was going on. "I understand." She turned to him. "Would Wednesdays work for you?"

"Whatever." He kept on looking at the old crone.

"If you could excuse us, Miss. Granger, Mr. Malfoy and I have to talk."

"Of course, Professor." She stepped around the chair. "I should let the prefects know their duties." She left the room, the door closing behind her.

Draco slumped into his seat. "Keep an eye on me?"

The professor nodded. "Would you prefer a mandatory curfew?"

He smirked. "I'm good. Thanks."

"Now, don't shirk on your nights that you are on duty. That is part of the agreement."

In his mind he saw her towering over him. He shook away the memory. "Fine." He stood up. "I still don't understand why you took me back."

"Because you had begged, Mr. Malfoy." She smiled at him. "And I felt sorry for you."

He stormed out of her office to head to his first class.

Wang: WHAT? No Quidditch?

Static: It was in the title.

Wang: But still…

Shadow: Eh, can't exactly call it Draco and The Eight Tasks and not even mention tasks.

Wang: But still…

Time Stop: Can this happen later?

Wang: Okay…

Shadow: Please Review! Let us know what you think the tasks are gonna be!

Wang: We haven't decided those yet?

Static, Time Stop, and Wang: _all face palm_


	3. Chapter 3

Time Stop: We don't own anything.

Static: At least, none of the things that you recognize.

Wang: Now I have this hat…

Shadow: Not this again.

Chapter 3: A Past Revealed?

He ignored the old crone as she spoke to the school about the tasks. Each student was frozen in attention. All except for him, who drank slowly from his goblet. She was explaining on and on about the very tasks he himself and heard of that morning. But he had better things to do instead of compete, though competing was something that he had missed this past year of schooling; he would rather take care of his daughter instead.

"Draco."

He blinked a few times. They came back into focus, staring ahead at Blaise. "What?"

"You alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You've been staring at me for the past ten minutes."

Draco scoffed. "You had some gravy on you cheek. I was debating on whether or not I should tell you."

Blaise took a napkin and scrubbed away at his face. Nothing came up, and he scowled at Draco. "Very funny."

"Never said it was." Draco yawned.

"So this was what the professor told you this morning?"

He looked from the professor's table to Blaise. "Yeah."

"What do you think?"

"That it's rubbish."

"Well, I agree that not having Quidditch is rubbish, but I think that this could be fun."

"No, the whole thing." Draco drank again from his goblet. "Think about it. This is all a ploy for inter-house unity and all that shite. Just in order to participate you have to team up with the other houses."

"True."

"You think anyone wants to work with Slytherin? Or better yet, do you think we would want to work with any of them?"

Blaise was silent for a moment. "You have a good point. Tensions are high right now."

Draco arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Blaise nodded. "You don't share a room with us anymore, I forgot. You remember Avery? Year below us, well, now a seventh year?"

"Arrogant little git." Draco muttered. "Followed me around his first few years of Hogwarts. I lost track of him back in sixth year."

"Well, he isn't so little anymore. He had a bit of a growth spurt, in both his height and his attitude."

"What? He's angry that we had lost?"

"That you had lost." Blaise corrected. "I may be in Slytherin, but I wasn't a Death Eater."

Draco narrowed his eyes. Himself and Blaise had gotten into a very long and complicated argument the beginning of sixth year over allegiances. In the end, he had decided to continue his mission without his friend's aide, or any friend's aide for that matter. Blaise had, however, continued his friendship with him over the next several years even if he didn't believe in all of the same things.

And it was after the Battle of Hogwarts that Blaise had rekindled his friendship with him. Maybe that was why he still tolerated, even enjoyed sometimes, the man's company.

"Right. So, he's angry. A lot of them are."

"Well, he wants to get revenge on Potter. Only, Potter isn't in Hogwarts anymore."

"That's all?"

"Well, he still holds you in high regards. You had after all been in his service."

"And I'm also one of those no longer in his service." Unconsciously he gripped his arm where the Dark Mark was still tattooed into his skin. "I have better things than worry about blood matters."

"Such as?"

Draco was silent. "A lot of things." He answered finally. "Which is why I think this whole task thing is rubbish."

Blaise wasn't stupid. Draco knew that as well as anyone else in the school. He knew that something was up. As soon was appropriate he left the table and retired to his room. He still had some pressing problems to deal with. The most pressing were the damn patrols he had to do.

The old crone had agreed to watch his daughter until supper was over. But patrolling would mean he would have to start after supper and go until eleven or so. It honestly was overkill. But, he had no choice if he wanted to stay in Hogwarts. He laughed aloud.

"Damn crone. She's making me trust other people, isn't she?"

The only way that he could stay at Hogwarts and for him to have his child as well was if he had someone babysit for him. She was a crafty bitch.

"Who's she?"

Draco jumped. Turning around he spotted Blaise a good few paces behind him. He was smiling with his hands in his pockets.

"Who is she going to make you trust?"

Draco breathed in and out, calming his nerves. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"I thought you knew I was there. I had followed you after all."

Draco cursed softly. How was he going to get out of this one?

"Trust who?"

Draco thought of something crazy. So crazy that it might just work.

"You." He finally answered.

"Me? The great Draco Malfoy trusting me?"

Draco narrowed his eyes. "It's not like I have any choices."

Blaise put two hands on his chest. "You wound me good sir." He pretended to swoon and fell.

"Can I trust you or not?"

Blaise was back up in an instant. "Thought you'd never ask."

Draco moved his robe to one side and revealed his wand. "Can I trust you."

Blaise stopped joking around. He glanced between Draco's eyes and his wand. "Whatever has your goat's gotta be important."

Draco turned around and walked off, the black man close behind him. They came to the giant Hogwarts crest on the sixth floor. The crest opened up into their common room and Draco strode to the entrance.

"Take out your wand."

Blaise complied. "It's like platform 9 and ¾?"

"Exactly." Draco tapped the wall a few times in an intricate pattern. "Only those with wand access can go through." He stepped out of the way. "Repeat the pattern."

Blaise tapped the wall, hitting the exact spots that Draco had. The wall shimmered for a moment before returning to its ordinary stone facing. The man turned to his friend. "So I can go on through?"

"Should work."

Blaise went up the few short steps and went through the wall. Draco was a second behind. On the other side Blaise was examining the small landing.

"Not much in here."

"Shouldn't be."

Draco opened his door. He waited for Blaise to enter first before closing it. When the door closed he took out his wand and repeated the process. Blaise didn't say anything but put down his school bag as he watched Draco's movements. When it was his turn he copied the wand movements to a T. When the spell was over the door shimmered before going dark.

"Extra security?"

"I have my reasons." Draco reached up and yanked out a few of his hairs.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Blaise stared as Draco summoned a small vial. Placing his hair in the vial, he stoppered it and handed it to Blaise.

"Keep this on you at all times when you come up here."

Blaise stared at the vial in his hands. "Or what, I die?"

Draco smirked. "I wouldn't go that far."

Blaise swallowed audibly enough so that Draco could hear it. The vial went into his pocket.

"So what's this all about?"

"You swear not to tell anyone?"

"I swear on me nan's heart."

Draco kept staring at him.

"Honest. Cross my heart and all that."

He was still silent.

"Merlin's Beard! What's got your goat Draco?"

Draco walked to the nursery door and opened it. The sound of his child crying came through then, and the house elf appeared with his baby.

"Is that – wha – huh?" Blaise stammered. He pointed at the baby and Draco and back again. "What?"

"Is she doing alright?"

"Master Malfoy." The house elf, unable to bow, nodded its head.

"How is she?"

"She has just been fed. She still doesn't want to sleep."

Draco reached down and held her in his arms. "Thank you. You may leave."

"Of course, Master Malfoy."

The house elf vanished in a soft crack. Draco bounced gently, rocking the wailing child in his arms.

"What in Merlin's saggy arse crack is going on?" Blaise finally managed.

"This is my daughter, Elizabeth Laura Malfoy." Draco smiled at his little girl.

Blaise sat down on Draco's bed. "What?"

"She's named after her mother." Draco fought back a tear and looked at his friend. "Can you help me?"

"What?"

"Well-"

"I need an explanation. From the beginning."

Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Or I won't help."

He sighed, and continued to stand and bounce his daughter. He looked at her and back at his friend. "If you insist."

"I do." Blaise leaned forward, elbows resting on knees.

He pondered for a bit. "You remember last Christmas? I spent it back at the mansion."

"Used for You-Know-Who's base, right."

"Well, during that time I – I was feeling doubts."

"Doubts?" Blaise's eyes opened wide. "What sort of doubts?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. I couldn't have killed Dumbledore in sixth year. And since then…I had seen so much death…"

Draco went silent for a few moments. He struggled for words. "I left for a bit." He finally said slowly. "I apparated away from the manor, to spend some time by myself. I found a pub. Confused about everything, I drank to try to forget. I met a gal when I was there. We hit it off. I woke up at her place early the next morning. Before I got in too much trouble I apparated back to the manor."

Blaise was silent. That was the first time Draco had told him that. That was the first time he had spoken about that holiday.

"And then the Easter holiday happened. Potter had been captured by Greyback. I was asked to confirm whether or not that was actually him. I didn't turn him in." Draco looked up at Blaise. "I couldn't turn him in. I just couldn't.

"After they escaped, and of course they escaped its Potter for bloody sake, I had to get away for a bit. I needed to figure things out. I found myself back at that pub from winter. She came up to me, her hands on her belly and a smile on her face. She told me I was the father."

"Holy shite."

He was silent for a moment, the scene replaying over in his mind. "I don't even remember fucking her." He said at last. "But it made sense to me when she first told me." He looked at Blaise. "She wanted the child. I either had to be a part of their lives or walk away for good."

"And you stayed."

Draco smirked. "I may act like a right git sometimes but I wasn't going to walk away from my own flesh and blood." His voice got softer as he looked at his daughter. "I had to go back to school. He demanded it." There was no question who He was.

"After the war I went back to the manor. In between the hearings and questionings I went to her. At first it was to escape all of the chaos. It slowly became something a little more. During all of the trials and hearings I had, I went to her in her little one room apartment. She was the first person I told I was a free man."

"Gotta thank Potter for that one." Blaise commented.

Draco swung his gaze around and stared at him. "I guess I do." He whispered. Louder, "I went there during all of my free time. I went there to get away from it all and in the end I found myself a life I could live. A life I could live free."

"So what happened? Why're you here?"

"We had less than three full months together." Draco kept the tears from his eyes. Crying wouldn't do anything now. "She went into labor early. There were complications during birth."

Draco didn't finish the rest of the story for a while. The gravity of what happened silencing Blaise. They sat in silence. Elizabeth cooed from his arms and he resumed his rocking.

"My mother knows. My father doesn't. He wants us all on our best behavior so that he looks good for his final hearings. I needed to get away, someplace where she couldn't be hurt. Someplace where she could be safe. I owled McGonagall. She came to the manor while my father was away."

He looked at Blaise with tears in his eyes, his strength almost broken. "She refused to let me return to Hogwarts. I had been sent the same letter as everyone else by mistake, but she refused me outright. I don't blame her. If I were her I would do the same. I was on my knees and I begged for her to let me in.

"I think it was Elizabeth that convinced her. She was crying. I think that old crone has a weakness for cute little girls." He reached out and booped his daughter on the nose. "And you are a cute little girl, aren't ya?"

"So she let you return."

Draco threw his head back and tried to keep the tears from falling. "On the promise I would be on my best behavior. She let me be Head Boy so that I have the space for her. She has me patrolling as repayment I think. While I'm in classes she has a house elf watch her. But that ends after supper."

"But not after patrolling."

"Right. She wants me to trust others."

Blaise looked at the ground. "Who else knows? The professors?"

"Just them. Hence the extra security."

"I understand." Blaise let out a whoosh of air and stood up. "I can help you out."

"You will?"

"Yeah. I won't tell anyone either."

Draco looked between his daughter and his friend.

"And don't worry, I'm not going to blackmail you into doing something for me."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"I have no need to." Blaise smiled. "This is going to be an interesting year, won't it?"

Draco shook his head. "I hope not. All I want is to keep her safe."

He nodded. "So what about after Hogwarts?"

Draco looked at him, holding his sleeping daughter. "I don't know."

Static: And so the secret is revealed.

Shadow: Or is it?

Wang: It is, right?

Time Stop: Please Review!

Wang: Right!?


	4. Chapter 4

Static: A bit of a shorter one this time.

Wang: But plenty of action!

Shadow: If you call what we did as action, then yes.

Time Stop: As usual, we don't own a thing.

Chapter 4: Mudblood

Elizabeth was still at the point where she didn't like sleeping, and that meant that despite his best efforts on getting her to sleep most of the night he ended up pulling all-nighters time and time again. A week had passed since the grand reveal of Dumbledore's genius games. Or whatever the hell they called it now. He didn't care.

What he did care about was the lack of sleep he was getting. Sleeping in was a luxury he could only afford on weekends. And while he could catch an hour here and there it didn't help that his daughter wanted his constant attention. Now don't get it wrong, he loved his daughter more than himself. But being a single parent with full time school and a part time job was exhausting to say the least.

During the week, sans Wednesdays, he couldn't see his kid until late at night. At that point Blaise would leave and he would be left with a sleeping child. He would frantically finish his work load before she awoke a few hours later, hungry and cranky. Then the rest of the night was a fitful fight to get her to sleep between feedings.

He knew why she acted out like that. She wanted her mother, the mother that she never got to have. There were times in the middle of the night where he would sing to her softly the same songs that his beloved sang before she had died.

He missed her so damn much.

To call what he had for her as love was not completely accurate. Draco never experienced a true love before. He had a mother's distant love; a mother who would put her husband over her child in almost every facet of their relationship. He had a father's tight upbringing. Saying he was abused as a youth would not be accurate. But saying his father was negligent in his early years would be more true than he would have hoped. Even Parkinson and the short stint that they had together couldn't be called love. Rutting like animals in their fifth year, pretending they were madly in love; it could hardly be called love.

But with Elizabeth, with Elizabeth he could feel something. He could feel butterflies in his stomach as they sat their together. He could feel warm when they touched or held hands. He could feel whole as they lay together under the covers at night. With her love could almost be called a reality that a Malfoy could hope to hold.

Of course now she was dead and he was with a tiny little thing that wailed and cried and cooed.

What Draco was slowly learning, through all the sleep deprivation, was the love of a father towards his daughter. Which in turn frightened him to no end because he didn't know how to deal with that. Even Blaise couldn't help him, not that he would ask a man what love was. Perhaps that was why he stayed up all night without sleep. Not only because his daughter wouldn't sleep, but because his own feelings and thoughts haunted his every waking moment.

That didn't mean that Draco didn't want to see his child. He came back to Hogwarts, away from the outside world to a world he much would rather he had left alone, only to protect his daughter. So it didn't surprise him so much that he found himself arguing with Granger inside an unused classroom on the sixth floor.

"Really?"

"What, Granger? You keep on pulling me aside to talk to me and people will think things."

She blushed. "For the past week you've left patrolling early."

"Point being what?"

"You have to finish patrols! You only have a half hour left, why not just stick to it?"

"I don't feel like it." He offered. He leaned back against the table. "I've got better things to do."

"I'll believe that when I see you actually do something." She stared at him, frustration etched into her eyes. "All you do is hide away in your room."

"I also eat. And attend classes." He held up two fingers. "So at least two other things."

She narrowed her eyes. "How you got to be Head Boy is beyond me."

"Obviously McGonagall saw something you didn't."

He smirked. She shook in anger and started pacing. She had dark bags under her eyes, much like his. He shook his head. Maybe he wasn't the only one not getting sleep anymore. In her pacing, she passed in front of him and tripped over her own two feet.

Call it what you will, but with his reflexes he caught her before she hit the ground. With one hand, he grabbed her shoulder, and kept her body upright until her own two feet could work properly again.

"Watch where you step, Granger."

She brushed him off and stepped back. Confusion was clear as day. "Why catch me?"

"Can't have you fall and hurt yourself." He smirked. "Students will think I did something that I didn't."

"Like that's something you need to worry about."

"Actually, that's closer to the truth than you would think." He stood up. "We done here? I have things to do."

"We still have Hogsmede visits to go through. We still need—"

"Do what you want with them. Choose whatever." He looked pointedly at the bags under her eyes. "Then you might be able to get some sleep instead of staying up all night worrying about this bull."

She definitely was taken aback. "I don't lose sleep over that, Malfoy. I lose sleep…I lose sleep over other things."

He nodded, understanding. "You too?"

She looked up at him. "Yeah."

Nightmares about the war was the other thing that kept Draco awake at night. Mostly his dreams consisted of Laura and how they were together. But the other ones were about the war and its horrors. Either or, that and his kid kept him up all night. And it looked like Granger had the same strain of dreams.

He walked to the door. "As I said, do what you want."

"Malfoy!" She hurried to catch up with his pace. "You need to finish patrolling."

"I'll think about it." He said. "I'll put it on the list of shite to do."

"And how high on the list would it be?"

"Pretty damn low." He smirked. The crest opened and the stairs appeared. She stormed past him into the common room first. He followed a step behind. He stopped moving just inside the entrance. Something was going on.

He assessed the situation quickly. One of the Slytherins was jinxing one of the other students. The rest of the common room was watching. Whether that was because of their own complacency or the three other Slytherins with their wands out. Granger was already striding to the Slytherins. In the corner of his eye he saw Blaise in a chair turned about, trying his best to ignore the situation. From the dorms he saw Granger's friends coming down, hearing the commotion.

"Enough!" Granger barked. "Avery, stop it!"

The tall Slytherin turned to her. "And why should I?"

The other Slytherins around her looked down at her, their eyes trained on her but their wands still on the crowd. She was completely surrounded. But she still was Granger. As much as he hated to admit it, one of the last things he wanted to do was to go up against Granger in a duel of any sorts.

'Cause she might actually win if that happened.

"Because I would do more than take away Slytherin's House points."

He towered over her, using every scrap of height he had to his advantage. "Like what?"

"You want to find out?" It came out as a whisper but in the silence of the common room it carried all the way to where Draco was.

During this little exchange, the poor student that was being jinxed managed to escape, and ducked into the crowd. She was enveloped quickly by her friends, who started to apply the counter curses. Avery sneered at the student.

"Fine. We've stopped."

Draco started to make his way through the crowd. The waters parted for him so to speak. Already they were whispering. Just whose side was he on? He smirked. He wasn't on anyone's side. But let them fear him. Let them leave him alone.

"Good. If I found out this happens again…" She trailed off.

"Don't threaten me, Granger." Avery snarled. "Else you'll bite off more than you can chew."

"I don't need to bite, Avery." Granger smiled sweetly at him. "But maybe you should stop barking like a little bitch."

She turned away from him, headed to the jinxed student. The crowd started ooo-ing, doing that annoying thing where they kept on provoking. Draco smiled and went past Avery and his fellow Slytherins, aiming for his room.

"That's right, turn around and run you filthy Mudblood!" Avery shouted.

The room gasped.

Draco whipped out his wand.

Avery was blasted through the crowd, slamming into the wall above the entrance to the common room before collapsing to the ground. Draco kept his wand trained on him, forcing Avery on the ground and unable to move.

"Don't you ever fucking say that again." Draco snarled. "Or _I_ will bite."

Avery was frightened, his eyes wide. But his mouth couldn't work, so he lay there slack jawed at the Head Boy. Around Draco, the three Slytherin cronies all pointed their wands at him.

"Drop it." One of them grumbled.

Draco glanced about. "You sure you want to do that?" He smirked.

Granger already had her wand trained on one of them. Around the room Weasley, Longbottom, and Lovegood all had their wands trained at one of the Slytherins. The rest of the students just stood there in silence, glancing between the two of the different sides.

Grudgingly, the Slytherins dropped their wands. Granger and her friends all lowered theirs. But Draco still held power over Avery as he lay pinned before the common room entrance.

"Do you understand?" Draco snarled. "Or do I need to make you understand?" He applied more force down.

Avery frantically nodded as well as he could. Draco eased up on the pressure.

"Are you going to say it?"

"I-I understand." Avery managed to say.

Draco increased the pressure. "Louder!"

"I understand!" Avery shouted, tears starting to fall. "I understand! I understand!"

Draco released the pressure and Avery lay there quivering in pain and fear. He glanced about the room at the confusion. Without another word he turned about.

"You'll regret that, Malfoy." Draco stopped moving. "And to think I used to look up to you." He glanced behind him at the still quivering form of Avery.

He kept on walking in silence. He went through the portal to the Head's rooms. He opened his door and closed it. It was only after he had his baby in his arms did he collapse in the wooden rocking chair.

His muscles shook from the sudden exertion. His mind raced a mile a minute. But as he absently rocked his daughter one thought stood out to him amongst all of the others.

What the hell did he just do?

Shadow: So for those still thinking about it, this won't be a Draco x Hermione fic.

Wang: It's not!?

Time Stop: I mean, it could. Anything's possible.

Wang: Anything?

Shadow: _sighs_

Static: Please Review.


	5. Chapter 5

Wang: Update time!

Static: Bit of a lengthy one here.

Shadow: This way yall won't finish in a few short minutes.

Time Stop: As always, we don't a single thing.

Chapter 5: You've Changed

Ultimately Draco knew why he acted like he did. But that wasn't something he wanted to dwell on. He was in the past enough in his dreams that he couldn't afford to spend them in his waking moments as well.

His actions that night three days ago spread like wildfire through the school. Some were exaggerating the story that he had single handedly took down Avery and seventeen of his friends before McGonagall arrived to put an end of them. Others claimed that he now was shagging Granger of all people.

But out of all the rumors one thing was consistent: Draco Malfoy wasn't the same arrogant git that had roamed these halls the previous year. Sure, he still was an arrogant git, but he was a different arrogant git.

That made him an object in their eyes too. And not an object of wonder and admiration but more along lines of a villain given free reign. They stared at him during class and during meals. Even his fellow Slytherins, other than Blaise, seemed unsure of how to make him out. Most of them followed Avery. Whether that be because they were afraid of Avery or of Draco he couldn't tell. But that meant that in classes without Blaise he was by himself. During meals only Blaise would talk to him. The crowds in the halls and corridors of the school gave way to him, avoiding him like the plague.

In short, Draco was alone. Other than Blaise, who couldn't be with him every second of every day, he was by himself. And he could deal with that. No one bothered him. He only had one friend who could be counted on, life was good.

Since Saturdays and Sundays he had no classes to attend and no corridors to patrol late at night, he spent his time in his room with his child. While she napped Draco spent the quietness either sleeping or watching his daughter. Blaise would show up eventually, usually with food pilfered from the kitchens. While his daughter had enough formula thanks to the house elves, Draco had no food himself if he never left his room.

"Speak of the devil." Draco had woken up a few minutes before. His wand had been flashing a soft blue and he had only noticed it. To prevent any knocking from waking his girl, he charmed the door that any knocks would make his wand glow blue in cadence to the knocking. Only when he was inside his domain of course. While he was out the knocking would still be silenced.

Yawning, he stood up from the rocking chair. He looked down at his daughter still fast asleep despite the time. He rubbed sleep out of his eyes and walked out of the nursery to his room. He opened the door. His countenance hardened slightly. Outside his door, hand poised in mid-knock was Granger. Blaise was leaning against the far wall, platter in hand.

"Finally." Granger muttered.

"What the hell do you want, Granger?"

"Zabini has been out here for a half hour, waiting for you to get up." She retorted. "I can't have him outside my door all day while you sleep."

Blaise took that cue to slip in between Draco and the door. "Have fun." Blaise muttered to him.

He watched Blaise as he set the platter down on an empty desk. He turned back to look at Granger still standing at his doorway.

"What the hell do you want?"

"We need to talk."

"Really? Now?" Draco groaned. "You know if you keep on doing this that people will start thinking that the rumor was true. What would poor Weasel think?"

Granger blushed. "Not true. Besides, I have witnesses."

As if they had practiced it, Lovegood and Weasley opened the door from her room and poked their heads out. He rolled his eyes. "Make it quick, I have things to do."

"Like sleep?"

"Maybe." He smirked. "What's it to you?"

She hesitated. She glanced back at her friends and then back to him.

"Spit it out, Granger."

"Thank you."

For the second time in his life, Draco was stunned at her actions. The first being the punch back in third year, but at least he expected that kind of behavior from her. This was unprecedented.

"For?" He finally found his voice again. He brought a hand up to his hair and ruffled it, trying to calm his nerves.

"For what you did to Avery."

"If I remember correctly you threatened to take away house points for unnecessary roughness the next day."

"That was because that was my duty." She looked up at him and caught his eyes for the first time. "But he did deserve what you did to him. So thank you."

"I guess you're welcome." He sighed. He stuck a thumb back into his room. "Can I go?"

His sixth sense kicked in. Elizabeth was awake. He whipped his head around and saw Blaise already retreating into the nursery and closing the door behind him. He had to sigh in relief.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. That all?" He turned back to her.

"Yes." He was closing the door when she spoke again. "Actually, no." He stopped closing the door.

"You have ten seconds before I close the door on your face."

"You see, that's something I would expect from you. But you are still talking to me. You haven't once called me… _that_. You've changed, Malfoy."

He was silent for a second. "And so what if I have?"

"Well, I was wondering why."

"That is for me to know and you not to find out."

He closed the door but she stuck her foot in before it shut properly. Angrily, he opened the door again. She was waving to her friends, as if saying: I got this. She looked up into his eyes again.

"I want to ask you something."

He narrowed his eyes. "Last question, Granger. Then I shut the door regardless of your feet."

"I want to invite you to our team."

He blinked. Once, twice, thrice. No words came. That was the second time in the same conversation. What was wrong with him?

"You see, we already have Ginny, Luna and myself. We also have Sebastian from Hufflepuff. We just need a Slytherin for it to work. No one in Slytherin trusts any of us. The only person we could think of to join our team was you."

Finally his voice returned. "Hell no!" He growled. "I'd rather kiss a banshee than join your team."

She laughed. "Prove it then."

"Get me a banshee and I'll show you. This conversation is over!"

He slammed the door in her face and leaned up against it. He breathed in deep and let it out in an angry huff. He needed to cool down. He needed to relax before he saw his baby girl. His eyes went to the platter and he opened it. Inside lay a flagon of cold water and sandwiches. He devoured one of the sandwiches and drank half the flagon before he slowed down to think.

Blaise warned him only seconds before. He knew something about this. As he ate the second sandwich he nodded in self affirmation. Blaise definitely knew something about this. And as soon as he finished this sandwich he would find out.

A few minutes later he opened the door to find Blaise laying on the ground with his baby next to him, staring up at the ceiling which was enchanted to show the sky.

"You knew."

"She might have asked me about it while we were waiting for you."

"And you told her no?"

"Of course. This is Granger we're talking about here. She'll stop at nothing when she gets her mind on it."

Draco glanced at his wand, which thankfully wasn't glowing blue. "Well, she's no longer knocking at least."

Blaise laughed softly. "She was angry that your special assignment from Professor McGonagall had you cooped up in your room all weekend. She started knocking furiously and had been doing it for like ten minutes before you showed up." The man turned his head to look at Draco standing above him. "What special assignment?" He asked, grinning.

Draco plopped down to sit next to them, leaning against the crib. "That's what that old crone called this. She used it to get her off my back so I could watch Elizabeth."

As if in cue, she gurgled. Draco swept her up into his arms and bounced her absently. Her razor blue eyes wandered his face. Her dimple-filled smile broke out.

"She smiled!" Draco's own grin broke out. "She just smiled!"

Blaise leaned up on his elbows. "First time?"

"Of course." Draco watched her little smile in silence.

"They aren't supposed to smile for a little while yet. I always knew that she was a smart girl." He spoke at last,

"Yeah." Blaise agreed, sitting upright as well.

They sat in silence as she gurgled. Before their eyes she slowly closed her own until she was dozing gently in her father's arms.

"You told Granger to stuff it then?"

Draco glanced at his friend. "Of course. I don't have time to be dealing with that bull while I have her." His gaze returned to his baby girl.

"I agree." Blaise nodded. "It'll be hard enough as it was to watch her during the week. But if you have those tasks too, you wouldn't be able to watch her very well."

"My thoughts exactly."

Blaise smirked, a mirror image of Draco's signature grin. "That doesn't apply to me though."

"Oh really?" Draco's surprise splashed across his face. "I thought that you wouldn't."

"Well, I thought that no one would have me on their team. That was until Longbottom invited me."

"Longbottom? Neville Longbottom?" Draco repeated the name as Blaise nodded. "The same Longbottom that didn't know shite in his first year?"

"Same one. Though he has come a long way since then." Blaise looked up to the afternoon sky. "We all have."

"I suppose."

Draco couldn't argue with that. Neville had been the sole thorn in the side of the Carrows last year at Hogwarts. And instead of taking care of that thorn like they should, they let him grow and fester until he was a force to reckon with. He had a sizable portion of students at his side, all of which could duel halfway decently for their age. He was no Harry Potter, but people respected him.

"Well I should get going." Blaise got up.

"For?"

"The team wants to meet up and talk about the first event."

"That's six full days away."

"Exactly." Blaise stretched out, working the kinks from his back. "But according to the sheet the first task is going to take place at midnight. Which means at the very least we have to deal with Astronomy. Besides," he smirked again, "we're out to win it this year. With Granger out of the picture, that really leaves our team with any strong contenders."

"Oh really?" Draco got up as well and laid his daughter in her crib. "There's no other winners out there?"

"Well, we might have to deal with Avery and his team, but—"

"Avery?" Draco interrupted. "What's that git doing in this?"

"Well, he and a whole bunch of other Slytherins have made some teams of five. He's the only real threat among them."

"Why the hell would he want to be in this? I can't see him doing this for extra credit, it doesn't seem his play."

"It's not." Blaise sighed. "You've been in your room since you got back on Friday night, so I doubt that you heard. But rumor is that Avery is calling you out."

"Does that boy learn anything at all?"

"He says that he can win more than you. And the fact that you hide in your room all the time and you haven't signed up for a team makes you a coward in his eyes."

"He's been calling me a coward?"

"Him and his friends. You know, I have to share a room with that creep. He kinda reminds me of you back from sixth year."

Draco shrugged. "I was a huge git back then."

"Exactly. Avery is a huge git."

Draco sighed. "Remind me to curse him real good next time I see him."

Blaise raised his hands up, palms facing out. "I'm not in this one. I know nothing." He smirked.

"Good." Draco smirked as well. "Now would you quit smirking my smirk? It's unnerving."

"Someone's got to smile this smile while you're inside all day." Blaise gave a deep bow, hands out stretched in an obscene fashion. "Good day my good sir. I bid you adieu, father."

Draco barked out a laugh. "Get out of here." He waved his hand at him.

He turned his back to the door and returned to the crib. She was still asleep. Draco smiled. He went and got another sandwich and ate it slowly while standing over her crib.

While his body was slow and steady his mind was jumble of thoughts. Avery seriously pissed him off. If it was because Avery was a disgusting blighter or if it was because Avery reminded him of his past self he didn't know. And frankly, right now he couldn't care. He was a different man today than he was then. He had a daughter to look after. He couldn't spend time away from his baby girl any more than he had.

But Avery made him so mad! He wanted to wipe that arrogant sneer off of his face. He wanted to put him in his place. He wanted to prove that he could win over him in any event, in any day. He wanted to make sure that Avery couldn't bother him anymore.

He took in a deep breath. That was his anger talking. That was his testosterone kicking in. He hadn't had time to grieve properly, he hadn't gone out to exert himself since the one Quidditch match he played last year before Christmas. He was a mess of emotions and anger and sadness. He needed to get it out of his system.

Now, even if he wanted to do these stupid tasks, he would have to find a sitter for his daughter. If Blaise and he were taking the tasks, then no one would be able to watch her. At her age? That was a death sentence to leave her alone. If not for her than for himself. If anything happened to her and he wasn't there to stop it he would never forgive himself.

She moved a little in her crib, bringing Draco out of his thoughts. He watched her intently as she settled back down in her nap.

He laughed softly to himself. What the hell was he thinking? Of course he wouldn't join up on Granger's team and do those stupid tasks. He had a child to look after. He needed to be here. He needed to be here. Even as he made his resolve tighter he could feel a deep ache in his chest. The same ache that flew free when he was on a broom after the snitch. He hung his head. He missed the excitement. But he couldn't join, no matter what.

And Saturday passed into Sunday which passed into Monday.

He cast the proper grooming spells on himself, becoming once more clean and presentable. Bidding the house elf good bye, he left later than usual. His nightmares had kept him restless that previous night. As a result, his temper was high, as a few poor Retardclaws found out when they crossed his path.

He arrived at the Great Hall just in time to grab some toast before the last of the food had disappeared. He followed the mass of students to his first class. Grumpy and tired, he waited outside of the potions classroom deep in the dungeons. Blaise hadn't made an O on his OWLS, and was not in the class. However, both Granger and her friends as well as Avery were. Because of the returning Seventh year students and the Sixth year students who had proceeded with their schooling, it was a larger than normal class size. Despite the number of students a circle had formed around with Draco on the outskirts.

Slughorn was continuously late first thing in the morning. Especially after a weekend off from teaching. So no one was surprised when class started and no professor was around. So, as Draco kept to himself he heard his name being said. His ears perked up and he glanced about. It was Avery, in the middle of a group of Slytherins.

"—know that there isn't any way that I wouldn't win." Draco caught the last bit of his rant. "No one can beat me in potions, and no one can beat my team."

"What about Draco?" One of the Slytherins asked. Draco groaned inwardly. It was Parkinson.

Avery laughed. "Him? He couldn't get first if he was the only competitor. He couldn't win when Potter was here, he won't win when Potter isn't here."

"That's not what I saw last week." Parkinson again in her whining voice.

"H-He got the drop on me, that's all." Avery stammered. "In a proper duel I would beat him with one hand tied behind my back."

Draco felt his already short temper rise. Oh really? He could beat him? He moved from his position and made his way through the crowd to Avery.

"Besides. He's not even a true Slytherin. If he was then he wouldn't set aside Lord Voldemort so quickly."

"Avery!"

The man turned to Draco, fear flashing across his eyes before being replaced with confidence. Avery fingered his wand.

"What, Malfoy?" He sneered.

"I'm not a proper Slytherin?" He echoed. "I'm not able to win?"

"That's what I said." Avery puffed out his chest, his friends around him also grasping their wands. "All you do is hide in your little room all day. You're a coward."

"Am I?" Draco pondered. "No."

With a twist of his hand, Avery's neck grew pink and feathery, stretching up and up. Draco trained his wand on him and him alone, not moving when the other Slytherins pointed their wands at him. Students began to circle the group, keeping a safe distance.

"Slytherin house has been around a hell of a lot longer than Voldemort has been." He said. "As for cowardice, I don't fight sniveling wenches."

Avery snarled. "You dare—"

"And as for not being able to win?" Draco waved his wand and silenced the man. "You're right, I couldn't win against Potter. But Potter isn't here." He raised his voice. "Oi! Granger!"

The crowd that had forming spread about, revealing the woman. She looked disapproving at them, but there was a small grin on her lips.

"What do you want now, Malfoy?"

"That offer still good?" He kept his gaze on Avery and his friends. "I need to prove a certain someone he's wrong."

"I'm sure it'll keep." She had a full-fledged smile now. "I'll let Sebastian know after class."

One of the other Slytherins must have cast the counter curse to Draco's silencing charm. "What offer!" Avery snarled. Bit by bit the jinx that Draco had cast was being undone. Avery's friends were pretty adept at applying counter curses after all. Draco was mildly impressed. Only mildly, as anyone with half a brain could counter simple charms like that.

"The offer for the best team." Draco smirked. "There's no way you can win when we actually put our mind to it."

Avery blanched. He brought up his wand, his face set in a snarl. Before he could let loose a spell the classroom door opened. He paused in his actions, and debated. Apparently getting in trouble with the professors was not something he wanted, and he stowed his wand away. With the students filing away inside Draco caught his breath.

Then he replayed exactly what had happened in his mind. His eyes widened.

"Shite." He muttered. He looked at the open door to the classroom and the students inside. "What the hell did I just do?"

Ignoring his class, he stalked off. If he were to back out now, after that display, he would be branded a coward. And Draco Malfoy was anything but a coward. He had to perform some sort of damage control. If he couldn't back out of these stupid tasks he wanted to win. If he wanted to win, he had to be there for the tasks. If he was there for the tasks then no one would watch Elizabeth. He had to get another sitter. That meant another person he had to trust.

He stopped in his tracks. "Or did it?" He muttered. He took stock of where is wandering brought him. He rerouted, and set off. Within a few short minutes he found himself before the Head Mistress's office.

"First task." He said. He went up the spiral staircase two at a time. He barged in without knocking. If the crone was surprised she hid it well.

"I believe you should be in Potions, Mr. Malfoy."

"I needed to talk to you."

"About?"

"I need a baby sitter."

"I believe that was for you to figure out on your own."

"That was until I decided to participate in your little tasks."

"Oh really?" She put down the spectacles on her nose. "And why should I?"

"Because you want your Head Boy make a good impression. Inter house love and all that tripe."

"You're not making a good case for yourself."

"I'm on a team with bloody Granger, how's that for my case?"

McGonagall was silent. A small smile came to her features. "How interesting." She whispered. "Any particular reason why?"

"Avery's a git. I want to wipe that smile from his face."

She sighed. "Well, I suppose the enemy of my enemy is a friend?" He was silent. "Or was it that you still owe Harry and Hermione a debt?"

She waited for a response that wouldn't come.

"Well, I agree." She eventually spoke again, sighing. "During your tasks when you are required to be there, I will provide a sitter for you."

"Thank you."

"One condition."

"And that is?"

"That you, how was it that you put it? Wipe that smile from his face?"

Draco smirked. Even the headmistress was biased against that arrogant git. "That's a deal."

"Here." She waved her wand and a piece of parchment went to him. "Return to class if you would."

He glanced at the ink on the parchment. As he left he had to laugh. That old crone knew that he was coming. Word must travel very fast if she had only found out about it. Unless she had planned that he would skip class and see her one of these times.

That scared him more than he would like to admit.

Static: Not all chapters for this thing should be this length.

Wang: Though that'll be nice!

Time Stop: Depends on what happens in the chapter, of course.

Wang: Don't they know that already?

Time Stop: Well, yes.

Shadow: Then why say it?

Time Stop: Well…

Wang: Ha! _points_

Static: Please Review!


	6. Chapter 6

Time Stop: Another month, another chapter.

Static: We don't own anything.

Chapter 6: Task 1

Draco bid goodbye to the house elf in charge of Elizabeth that night. He made his way down through the empty common room to the grounds outside. When the school found out that he had teamed up with Granger, all hell had broken loose. Rumors were flying this way and that. The Daily Prophet had even wrote an article about the various teams for the tasks at Hogwarts; though the majority of the article had been about Draco's team and the dynamic between himself and Granger.

The rumors were still well and alive, even four days later. Whenever Granger and he were in the same room, people whispered and pointed. Granger usually hid with her friends, who formed a protective barrier against the whispers. Draco handled it by scaring the life from the first few who had done it. While the whispers prevailed, they weren't in his direct vicinity.

He could handle that.

He stepped outside. The night had fallen hours ago. The grounds were lit by several floating candles. Despite the subdued lighting, Draco could easily see the rumbled ruins of the Quidditch Field. He frowned at the sight. He turned his gaze to the other students. They huddled in small groups, whispering to themselves. The only professor that was currently with them was the Headmistress.

Draco caught sight of Granger and her friends. The three of them, along with a very tall and lanky Hufflepuff were gathered close to the professor. He stayed where he was, shoving his hands in his pockets. He spotted movement from the Forbidden Forest. From the trees emerged the other professors. It looked like all them were there. He eyed the forest warily. It was dangerous in the forest. If half of the stories that he heard were true, then he didn't want to go in.

As the professors came closer, the old crone spoke. "Welcome to your first task." While her voice was soft, it carried on the night wind. "Your first task is a combination of two subjects. Astronomy, and Care of Magical Creatures. Your objective for this evening is to head into the forest and find a scroll. Inside each scroll is written a constellation. You have to return here and replicate the constellation in any way you seem fit.

"Now be warned, there are creatures out in the forest. Part of the task is to properly handle and navigate the forest with these creatures. There will be teachers in the forest who can help if needed; though there will be points deducted for doing so. If you are in need of any assistance, fire red sparks into the air and we will be there to help."

She looked at the huddled groups in front of her. "Now, points will be awarded to each group based on how long it took to complete the task, as well as how accurate the replication of your constellation is. The ranking will be posted tomorrow morning. Are there any questions?"

Silence answered her.

McGonagall smiled thinly. "You are dismissed."

The students seemed unsure of what to do at first. While Astronomy was on the forefront on their minds, Care of Magical Creatures wasn't. No one moved, all huddled about and whispering to each other. Half of the professors were heading back into the forest, the remaining professors staying behind in the ring of candles. Longbottom, followed by Blaise and the rest of the group, were the first to step for the Forbidden Forest. That set off a chain reaction, and all the students surged forward.

Minus Draco and the rest of his team mates.

Granger had finally spotted him, and led the group to him. He stayed where he was, forcing them to walk all the way back to him. Weasley had her hand close to her wand. Lovegood was busy looking nowhere and everywhere all at once. The Hufflepuff had puffed out his chest and was walking almost bow legged. Only Granger seemed almost unfazed by it all.

"Malfoy." She said as they came up.

He rolled his eyes. "What now?"

"Shouldn't we be going?" Weasley muttered.

"Not my call." Draco smirked. "All I want is to wipe that smirk from Avery's face."

"Then let's go." Granger half turned to the forest. "This is Sesbatian Swallow, fifth year prefect."

"You mean the preened willow?" Draco stuck his thumb out at the lanky teen. "He's about as intimidating as a Bowtruckle."

The Hufflepuff's chest sank low, the young man instantly slouching. Granger gave him a dirty look.

"Malfoy—" warned Weasley.

But Draco stepped right past her and the equally furious Granger and headed right for the forest. He frowned as he came closer. The last time that he was here was when he had passed to leave Hogwarts in his sixth year. The time before that he had detention in his first year. He didn't have many fond memories of this place.

Granger caught up to him and gripped his arm tightly. "Don't you dare talk to them like that." She hissed.

Draco jerked hard, and her grip fell away. "I do what I need to do. I don't have time for kids."

"He's hardly a child."

"He's also all knees and elbows." He stepped into the trees. "I'm certain he's here only because one of you girls asked and he thought he could have the pick of the litter."

Granger did slap him hard. Granted, it was against his shoulder and his robe cushioned the blow rather well. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she stared right back at him. He could feel Weasley's wand pointed at him from behind.

He slowly and deliberately brought out his wand. He maintained eye contact as he fiddled it in his fingers. He saw Elizabeth flash before his eyes. All at once the anger vanished from him. His wand lit up, shining light on all of them. In the new light he could see both fear and anger and regret in her eyes.

Without another word he stalked forward.

There was a tussled conversation behind him, held in whispers behind hands. An agreement was reached as they began to follow, but at a safe distance, Draco into the forest.

They walked for what seemed like hours in the uncomfortable silence. They glanced here and there for the scrolls that they needed to look for but spotted nothing. They also found no sign of magical creatures. Things were almost unnaturally quiet.

"Is that it?"

They all stopped. The Hufflepuff was pointing to the base of a large tree, were the white scroll was easily visible.

Granger pointed her wand at it. "Accio!"

The scroll didn't move.

"Honestly, Granger, if we could do that we would've done that before entering the forest." Draco smirked.

She blushed horribly. That Swallow kid started walking to the scroll. Lovegood and Weasley both had their wands out.

"Something feels wrong." Weasley whispered.

"Sebastian!" Granger hissed. "Come back!"

The teen turned around. "What? It's fine. There's nothing out here."

As he turned back around a dark thing dropped from the tree above. There was a flash of light from the girls' wands. The thing was blasted back and the Hufflepuff was on the ground.

"Sebastian!"

He scrambled to his feet, scurrying back to the relative safety of the group. "What was that!"

"Acromantula." Granger said softly.

"Giant spiders?" Draco said slowly. "I thought that that great oaf took care of them already."

"Hagrid has." Weasley gave him a dark look. "He said that he brought them back deep into the forest."

"Well we certainly didn't go that far into the forest." Draco looked about. "So why are they this close again to the school?"

Granger looked about nervously. "We grab the scroll, and go back."

Lovegood pointed up. "They're all around us."

Weasley and Granger pointed their wands up. True enough, at the edge of their light they could make out something shifting in the darkness.

Draco cursed softly under his breath. "We've spent too much time here as is."

He slashed his wand at the spiders above. A long line of fire spread out from it, arcing to hit the monsters above. He dashed forward. Something lunged at him from the shadows. He twirled his wand in time and brought up a shield. The Acromantula hit it heavily, causing him to stagger to the side. With another wave of his wand he knocked it flying. He reached down and grabbed the scroll and ran back.

The fifth year was watching the girls around him blast spiders that were attacking them from above and the sides. Draco heaved on the boy's arm. "We're leaving, now move!"

They ran as fast as they could. It didn't really matter which way, as long as they could avoid the spiders that were on their tail. Every so often they would turn and fend off the fastest of the spiders who led the pack. Within moments Draco could feel pain slowly setting into his legs. He twisted to glance behind at the others and the spiders beyond them. He swiped his wand again and fire came out. The spiders slowed their assault, wary of the fire.

"We can't run forever." Granger stopped and panted. "Are they behind us?"

Weasley looked behind them. "I think we have some time."

Draco stopped and tried to keep his breathing calm. The Hufflepuff was pale faced and was hiding behind a tree. Lovegood still had that incessant look of daydreaming, even while sweat came pouring from her brow. Weasley looked wild and nervous, glancing back at the approaching spider horde. Only Granger resembled anything that was calm.

"Acromantulas have two weaknesses: fire and Basilisks." Granger said slowly.

"I don't think that burning down the whole forest is smart, Hermione." Weasley glanced back Draco with a hard glint to her eyes.

"And I don't know about you, but I don't have a Basilisk in my back pocket." Draco scowled. "But burning down the whole damn forest might be fun."

"That isn't an option!" Weasley shot back.

"You sure, Weasley?" Draco smirked. "Cause I'm pretty sure that my fire slowed them down."

Weasley scowled. "At what cost? The trees are on fire!"

"Would someone tell me what a Basilisk is?" Cut in the Hufflepuff. He was on the ground with his back still to the tree.

"A Basilisk is when—"

"We don't need a textbook definition, Granger." Draco glanced backwards. "Think of a giant snake that can turn you to stone if you see its face."

The Hufflepuff blanched.

"And that's if you're lucky."

The Hufflepuff shuddered, his pale face looking slightly more green than white.

Granger stood up straight, the panting gone. "I have an idea."

Weasley shot a spell at the spiders, causing them to step back. Draco watched as the spiders kept a close distance, but protected themselves with the trees. He glanced above, and shot fire at the shadows above. The light illuminated the few spiders there, and they retreated.

"Malfoy!" Weasley trained her wand at him. "Shove off!"

"Make me." Draco pointed his wand at her.

"Enough!" All of them turned to Granger, with her hands on her hips.

Weasley lowered her wand first. "What is it, Hermione?"

Draco followed suit. "Fine. What?"

"Malfoy, can you make us a snake?"

Draco stared at her. "What?"

"Just do it!"

"I—"

"Trust me."

Draco narrowed his eyes. Trust Granger? That certainly would be a first in his book. But he waved his wand and a long black snake appeared.

"Snakes and Basilisks are two different breeds, Granger."

"Engorgio!" Granger aimed true and the snake swelled up. They stepped back to give it room. The snake looked around, as if unsure why it was suddenly forty feet longer and now as thick as a tree trunk.

"Ginny, do you remember what they sound like?"

Draco's eyes widened slightly. She was going to make for herself a Basilisk. Not a real one, but one that would scare the living daylights out of those spiders.

Weasley caught on. "That's a sound I don't want to remember anytime soon."

She pointed her wand, and a horrible hissing sound came out. Shivers ran up and down Draco's spine. But as the sound played, the spiders backed off.

"Again!" Granger shouted.

Weasley complied. The Hufflepuff shivered in his seat, but he took Lovegood's hand and stood up on wobbly legs. The dreamy girl gazed off at the Acromantulas, cocking her head slightly to the side.

"Which way do we go?" Weasley asked.

Lovegood pointed to the left, still looking at the spiders. "That way."

"Good enough for me." With a flick of his wrist Draco ordered the snake forward. The snake rushed at the spiders. They scattered. Their nerves, already shaken from the sound of their nemesis was shattered as the supposed Basilisk attacked them.

"What are you doing?" Granger shrieked.

"Making a diversion." Draco ran off, headed to the grounds.

Moments later he could hear the others running after him. The small break they had didn't do much for his energy. His legs started hurting, and his breaths came in short gasps. He wiped his brow with his hand still clutching the scroll. When had running become such a hard thing to do?

They weaved through the trees. The sound of spiders still behind them, though it was now further off than before. Draco caught sight of a light up ahead. He ran harder, forcing his legs to move faster. The shadowy figure of Hagrid, the half-breed, came towards them.

"Now where have yeh been?" The great oaf bellowed. "It's been hours!"

"Those bloody spiders!" Draco puffed past the man.

"Wha'?"

"Hagrid, the acromantulas—" Granger almost collapsed next to the man. "They're right behind us."

The half giant un-holstered the crossbow from his back. Without another word to them he stomped into the forest.

Draco collapsed onto the ground. He was on fours, struggling for breath. The others collapsed close by, and nothing was said. The sounds of struggled breathing and his own pounding heartbeat was all that came to him. Then other sounds drifted in. He could hear Avery. Looking up, Avery stood a ways away, talking to a group of his friends, laughing. Judging from how he wasn't in his group anymore, he had already completed his task. And, as Draco looked about, every other group had finished too.

Anger boiled up inside. They were the last group back; wouldn't they be last? So much for beating Avery. He got to his feet, using the back of his hand to wipe at his brow.

"What in Merlin's name was that!"

Draco whirled about to stare face to face with Weasley. "What?"

"That snake. You almost killed us!"

"But we're alive, Weasley." Draco smirked. "And I didn't see you doing anything."

"We should have used it as a barrier so that we could—"

"And if we did that we could have died." Draco turned from her and unrolled the scroll.

"We're supposed to be a team, Malfoy." Granger said softly. "That means that we work as a team."

"Well excuse me for waiting for the Hufflepuff Wonder to stop panicking."

Said Hufflepuff Wonder was still on all fours, wretching as quiet as he could into the grass. Lovegood was playing caretaker, and patting the boy on the back whispering something to him. Draco unfurled the scroll and glanced inside.

"He's only in fifth year. He's never had to deal with those things before."

"Really? If I remember in fifth year we had done a lot more, Granger." Draco took one last look at the scroll and tossed it aside.

"Some of us actually did." Granger crossed her arms over her chest. "If I remember correctly."

"I never said that it was grandiose as yours." Draco raised his wand into the air.

"Malfoy—"

"But I'm done dealing with children." He cut Weasley off.

He shot out sparks into the air. Granger and Weasley looked up into the air, following the sparks. Each individual spark hung in the air, each in its own particular spot. The outline of a large bear became clear from the sparks.

"Ursa Major." A professor came up. "Very good, Mr. Malfoy."

"Thanks, Sinistra." Draco shot a look at Avery and his cronies.

"Malfoy—"

"I'm done." Draco looked over his shoulder at the two Griffindorks who stared at him. "I'm done." He repeated softer.

He started up to the castle. He ignored the snickering from the group of Slytherins. He shouldn't have ever joined up with Granger. This had to be as bad a mistake as it was agreeing to work with he-who-must-not-be-named. And that was a mistake and a half.

Shadow: What did ya think about the task?

Wang: Needs more chocolate.

Shadow: What?

Wang: Needs more chocolate.

Shadow: ...Please Review.


	7. Chapter 7

Time Stop: We don't own anything.

Wang: This should be exciting!

Chapter 7: Messages

With it being Saturday that morning, Draco didn't leave the room. After that horrible, horrible performance the day before, the last thing he wanted to do was to deal with the repercussions. He also didn't want to deal with Avery or Granger. He didn't want to deal with anything regarding the tasks or morons.

All he wanted to do now was to be with his child, and recover from his exhausted state. Pepperup Potions only did so much, and sore legs was not one of them. He spent most of that morning ignoring the blue glowing of his wand and holding his little princess.

During naptime he was plagued by nightmares. He walked among the dead. He saw Crabbe among the dead, his body was burned beyond most recognition. He saw Weasley, he always respected the twins' fondness for rule-breaking. He saw Dumbledore, his body laid to rest as if he were in his tomb. He saw Professor Snape covered in snake bites. He saw her on the birthing table.

His nightmares were only punctuated by his child's waking screams. It was earlier than when she should be up, and his baby girl wanted her mother.

"There, there." Draco crooned softly, his voice hoarse. He bounced her up and down and cradled her in his arms. He held her close. "I want her too. I want her too."

Elizabeth looked up at him as if questioning him.

"No, I do want her too." He said firmly. "Then maybe I wouldn't be here. I could be outside this bloody school and be with her and be happy and be whole again."

She looked at him and gurgled. He brought a bottle to her lips and she greedily began to suckle at it.

"But no. Instead I'm here with you in this god-forsaken school. And I had to go and do the stupidest thing I've ever done." He paused. "Okay, maybe the second or third stupidest thing I've ever done."

He turned his head to her, smiling. "Falling love and all that tripe is easily up there. But at least I have you."

She smiled behind her bottle. "That was stupid of me, wasn't it? Joining with Granger of all people and making a fool out of myself out there. I could've died out there. And let this be a lesson for you, Elizabeth, don't go risking your life for others. It doesn't work out for you. That there is a Gryffindork trait."

He nodded, as if reaffirming himself. "I'm telling them off tomorrow. I'm leaving this all behind and telling Granger to screw herself. I don't give a damn anymore."

She gurgled around her now empty bottle.

"Sorry, I really shouldn't be swearing in front of you." He smiled apologetically.

The tell-tale crack of a house elf apparating almost made him jump.

"What!" Draco hissed.

"You've been summoned by the Headmistress to her office."

"Now?"

"Now."

Draco looked at his daughter in his arms. "I'm a bit busy."

"She insisted."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Fine, this better be good."

He carefully handed his daughter to the house elf, who held her gingerly. He waved his wand, and the necessary grooming spells cleaned him up.

"I'll be back soon."

"Of course." The house elf bowed low.

He left the room, closing it gently behind him. He opened his own door and was so very thankful Granger wasn't outside of it. He left quickly. He stopped briefly before the barrier to the common room, and steeled himself. He exited.

Once again he was thankful, as Avery wasn't in the common room. In fact, most of the Slytherins weren't there. A few Retardclaws and Hufflepuffs were here and there, but for the most part it was empty. Draco glanced outside to the sun shining. They must've been all outside, taking advantage of the sun and the warmth.

He strode purposefully out of the common room and past the giant crest. He smirked. He had oozed confidence in the common room, and they all knew it. They had all quieted when he had entered. A dark thought came to him. Perhaps they had quieted down because they were discussing him? His smirk vanished. He set aside the thought quickly, and headed to the old crone's quarters.

"First Task." He intoned when he came to the gargoyle.

The gargoyle shook his head. "Not anymore." It grumbled. "Changed yesterday."

"Then what is it?"

The gargoyle smirked. "I'll tell you only because you are expected, Mr. Malfoy. Second Task."

Draco frowned, but stepped inside as the gargoyle moved aside for him. He climbed the spiral staircase and strode into the headmistress's room without knocking. Inside Granger was already sitting down. The two women eyed him.

"You're late, Mr. Malfoy."

"I was busy." Draco shrugged and plopped into the seat available. "What's so urgent?"

McGonagall sighed, looking very old. "Last night we had a break in in the library. Several students had acquired several texts from the restricted section."

Granger looked alarmed. "Were they caught? What's missing?"

"Madam Pince is looking into that still. We believe five texts were taken. If you two could keep an eye open for those texts, it would be much appreciated."

Draco shrugged. "What did they want?"

"That remains to be seen, but we suspect rituals of some sort."

"Rituals?"

"The particular area we had noticed missing texts were gathered around ancient rituals." McGonagall said slowly. "It's a very ancient magic."

"So who would want it then?"

Draco scoffed. "My money is on Avery."

"And not you?" Granger shot him a dark look.

"Mr. Malfoy has other duties he has to attend to." McGonagall said firmly. "He is unable to have the time to break into the restricted section. That is, even if he wanted to." She smiled thinly.

"Right you are." Draco narrowed his eyes. "As I said, try Avery."

"I will think about it, Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall said.

"Is that all, Professor?" Granger asked.

"For now," the old crone replied.

"No, it isn't." Draco cut off whatever she was going to say. "One last thing."

Both women turned to him. Each of them was eyeing him as if they already knew what was going on.

"I'm not performing those stupid tasks of yours, Professor," He said loudly. "I'm done."

"You just can't up and quit!" Granger stood up.

"I didn't sign a contract saying I had to stick with it." Draco stood up as well. "I've got better things to do than to risk my life over extra credit."

"It's about Avery, isn't it?"

"Why bother trying again when that foul git beat us?" Draco shouted. "I think it's clear that our "team" is incompatible."

"The only one incompatible on the team is you."

"Sure." Draco ticked them off on his fingers. "There's you, obviously little miss perfect. You have Potter's girl, who's a hot head at the best of times. You've got looney Lovegood for Merlin's sake. What did she do other than state the obvious! And your Hufflepuff isn't exactly hero material."

"He's in fifth year!"

"And if I recall he wasn't even in the war!" Draco shot back. "The Giant Squid has more backbone than he does!"

"You ran off without us! You're not a team player!"

"How can I be a team player when half of your team doesn't want me?" He smirked as he saw that his words hit home. "Whose brilliant idea was it to ask me anyway? Lovegood's? It's crazy enough to be hers."

"It was my idea."

"And why the fuck would you want me?"

"Language, Mr. Malfoy."

"Because for some stupid reason I thought that you might be different!"

"Different? The only thing different about me is the lack of sleep I get."

"We all have nightmares, Malfoy. We all hurt."

"Do you? They're nothing like mine."

They were silent, breathing hard. Still sat at her desk was McGonagall, uncharacteristically silent.

"I can't believe I let Harry talk me into helping you." Granger said softly. "He said that even if you are a right git that you weren't evil."

"He's right." Draco smirked. "I might be a right git but I'm not evil."

"Then why don't you try to make this work?"

"Why don't you try to use your head for once." Draco snarled. "I'm done!"

"I thought you had changed." Granger said softly. "But you're still the same ferret from first year."

"And you are still the same bushy-haired, buck tooth, pain-in-the-ass," he was seeing red. He watched her slowly reach of her wand, and he mirrored her movements. "know-it-all, bookworm, mu—"

"Enough!"

The anger faded from Draco instantly. Granger looked horrified, her wand raised at him. Even McGongall had her wand out and pointed at him. His own wand was pointed at her. As one, their attention turned to the portrait on the wall that had shouted at them. A sallow-skinned man looked down at them.

"Minerva, Granger," the man spoke. "Please leave us."

McGongall narrowed her eyes. "If you think that best, Severus." But she complied. "Come, Miss. Granger."

Granger threw one last horrified, dirty look at Draco before complying. Both women had their wands in their hands as they left. It was only after they had left and the door closed that Draco let out a huff of air.

"Don't do something that you might regret, Draco."

"I wasn't going to say it." His shoulders slumped and he plopped back down into the chair.

Thoughts raced a mile a minute. What was he going to say? Mudblood? Muggleborn? Now that he was thinking clearly again he couldn't tell what it was.

"I believe differently."

"And what would you know!" Draco whirled on the portrait. "It's not like you hadn't used the word before!"

"I once used that word on the woman I loved the most." Snape spoke slowly. "It destroyed what we were."

"I. Do. Not. Love. Her." He forced out.

"I know that as well as you." Snape smiled. "Besides, Elizabeth is long dead, isn't she?"

Draco growled. "No thanks to those doctors. She should've been at St. Mungo's."

"We both know that was impossible considering the circumstances."

The two men glared at each other for a few moments.

"Thank you." Draco looked away first. "For stopping me."

"That wasn't why I stopped you."

"What?"

"I stopped you for a very different reason."

"What? So my ass wouldn't be jinxed?"

"No, that would have been slightly amusing." The Slytherin smiled. "But rather, I wanted to stop you so that Elizabeth wouldn't hate you."

"She's dead, she—"

"Your daughter." Draco shut up. "I didn't quite realize you were that dense, Draco."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you want your legacy to be?" Snape asked. "What do you want your daughter to remember you by?"

"I'm not following, sir."

"If your daughter had found out that you had called Granger a mudblood, how would she react?"

"I wasn't going—"

"Were you?"

Draco went silent.

"Old habits die hard, Draco." Snape said softly. "I should know."

"So you did this to save me from my daughter?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Snape sighed. "Your daughter is going to look up to you like a god. That is until she learns to think on her own, which roughly happens when they join Hogwarts. She's going to learn about you and who you are. Can she still love you after knowing who you truly are?"

"Yes." Draco whispered. "Oh Merlin yes."

"Can she?" Snape pressed on. "I've spent my entire adult life keeping secrets. I've spent the last years of my life hated by everyone I would have called friend. Even now most hate me, and rightfully so. I may be a Slytherin, I may have played a part in Lord Voldemort's downfall; but I am still considered evil by most of the world because of the part I played. The legacy I left is what will define me. What will be your legacy?"

"My legacy?"

"Your legacy." Snape continued. "How will you want your daughter to know you? As the childhood bully? As the man who coordinated the death of the most powerful wizard of our time? Or the man who changed for the better?"

Draco looked at him, confusion painted on his face. "What do you mean?"

"Do you want your daughter to think that you are a quitter? A loser? A ferret who caved in? What about a man who is plagued by his past? Do you want your daughter's father be a man who can't be better than his past?"

"No." Draco whispered. He stood up straight. "No." He repeated, his voice stronger. "I don't want that at all."

"Then your only logical choice is to continue with these moronic tasks." Snape smiled, "and to prove to Mr. Avery that you aren't going to lose that easily."

"Hella easy for a portrait to say." Draco shot back.

"Considering all that I have done in my life, Draco, these tasks are inconsequentially moronic. If you have trouble with them, you aren't half the man I would figure you to be."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I can figure those tasks easily. It's my team I don't trust."

"Your team is quite frankly the most experienced." Snape drawled. "Even I have to say that. Yes, Mr. Swallow isn't the smartest or the bravest. But he is willing and able to learn if I remember rightly."

"He's a moron. He doesn't know a thing."

"He is. But he can learn. And don't forget about the ladies. Remember, they are much more capable than you would realize."

"Just because they survived the war doesn't make them anymore capable."

"No, but it gives them a leg up on Mr. Avery."

Draco was silent. After a few long moments he nodded. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right." Snape smiled. "Now I believe you have something to take care of?"

Draco shuddered, but nodded. "Fine." He looked up at the portrait. "You win. But one more task." He held up a finger. "And if we win, I'll stick with the group."

"You won't win."

"Then why bother competing?"

"Because, that sniveling buffoon is going to win."

"Avery?"

"No, Longbottom." Snape clarified. "The next task is Herbology. As much as I hate to admit it, Longbottom's finesse in the subject is certainly much higher than Potions."

Draco smirked. "So we can still place second."

"Which will be higher than Mr. Avery."

Draco stood up. "Good to me." He turned to walk away. "Professor?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks." Draco said softly. "For not making me do something stupid."

"Make her proud, Draco." Snape said softly in return.

Draco left the office and met McGonagall by the gargoyle. Her wand was away. "Well?"

"Where's Granger?"

The old crone narrowed her eyes. "You better not try to finish what you started earlier."

Draco shook his head. "Not now. Where is she?"

"She returned to her room." McGonagall finally answered. "You better not hurt her, Mr. Malfoy. Or our agreement is null and void."

"It's not on my agenda, Professor." Draco called out over his shoulder.

He ran through the corridor and down the stairs. He entered the North Tower and strode through the common room. Avery and his cronies were in the common room now, and their sniggering came to his ears. He ignored it, but he did finger his wand in his robes.

He strode through the barrier and knocked on her door. There was no response. He knocked again. No response. He pounded on her door.

"What do you want!" He turned and saw Granger flanked by Lovegood and Weasley. Her eyes burned with anger. All three girls had their wands out. He was reminded of the final battle, where the three of them had fought against his aunt. He pushed that thought from his mind. He kept his wand in his robes and kept his hands out of it.

"I wanted to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." Granger answered coolly. "Not after what you said."

"I didn't say—"

"What you were going to say." Weasley cut him off. "With that kind of language I'm surprised Professor McGonagall didn't throw you out."

"You weren't there, Weasley, so shut it." Draco snarled.

He composed himself as their wands were raised.

"As I said, I wanted to talk."

"There's nothing more to say." Granger repeated. "You're right, there's no point of having you on the team when you act like a filthy Slytherin."

"Now hold a second. Isn't this supposed to be about inter house unity?"

"That's a foreign concept to you, Malfoy." Weasley barked at him. "Can I hex him now? I want to hex him."

"I want to give it one more chance!" Draco quickly spat out. Their wands lowered slightly. "I want to give it one more chance."

"I don't think you deserve another chance." Weasley said.

"You're right. I don't." Draco trained his eyes on Granger. "But that doesn't mean that I don't want to do it."

Granger was hesitant. "How can we trust you after what you said?"

"I didn't say it!" Draco threw his arms up in exasperation. "I wasn't going to use that word!"

"How can you prove it?" Granger asked softly. "You hurt Avery over using it, but then you say it – almost say it – to me?" She amended. "How can we trust you?"

"I haven't used that word since…" He trailed off. He wouldn't give them that reason.

"Since when?" Weasley prodded her wand at him. "Since you lost?"

"No, since—"

"I believe him." Lovegood said suddenly.

Draco once more threw his arms in the air. "Thank you! One of you is sane."

"Luna…" Granger whispered. "Why?"

"I just do." Lovegood shrugged. "He looks more frazzled about this than he did when he left on Friday." She nodded sagely. "It must be because of the Wrackspurts."

Draco sighed. So much for a sane ally.

"Alright." Granger said slowly. "One last chance."

Draco smirked, all of his confidence back. "We'll place next time, don't you worry."

"Place?" Weasley hadn't lowered her wand as Granger and Lovegood had. "Not win?"

"We won't win." Draco said mysteriously as he opened his door, stepping inside. "Not this next task." He shut it quickly before any spells or words could be sent his way.

His wand glowed blue as they began to knock incessantly. He smiled wide. He had just taken that first step into the unknown to become something—someone better. And he had survived Granger.

He began to laugh. Survive Granger? Since when was that an accomplishment that he should be proud of? When had a simple conversation become more taxing than dealing with He-who-must-not-be-named?

He stopped smiling and laughing as suddenly as he had started. He turned to Elizabeth's room. He was going to make her proud. He was going to be a man that would be more than his mistakes.

On the list of stupid things he had ever done. Becoming a Death Eater was number one. Falling in love was number two. Joining Granger was number three. And almost ruining his life by spewing hate was number four.

He strode to the door and opened it.

He really did owe Professor Snape more than ever.

Shadow: Well, that could have gone very wrong.

Static: You're just hoping for that, aren't you?

Shadow: How'd you know?

Static: Magic.

Shadow: ...

Static: Please Review!


	8. Chapter 8

Time Stop: We don't own anything.

Wang: Next task! Next task!

Chapter 8: Task 2

The next task took place on a Monday afternoon in mid-October. All the students were gathered in the Great Hall, split by team rather than by house. After their spectacular loss over a month ago, Draco had been heckled almost to death by Avery and his cronies. However, the sight of Draco and Granger once more teamed up that afternoon had made Avery sweat more than a little. Apparently word of their team's regrouping hadn't reached his ears.

Along the sides of the Great Hall were the younger students. Classes had been canceled so that they may too watch the event. Because the tasks had mixed teams, no one house couldn't cheer for one team. The result was the younger students mixing houses in their cheers for their friends. As impressive as it was, Draco couldn't help but die a little on the inside. Not only was it nauseating but most of the Slytherins weren't cheering. And many who did cheer seemed hesitant on who they should cheer for.

The staff table was still there, and the old crone sat at it. Like the first task, the other professors were absent. Draco couldn't imagine how they could make Herbology as dangerous as the previous task.

He sat a bit to the side from Granger and the rest of her team. They sat close together, whispering to each other. He ignored them the best he could and wore a bored expression on his face. He knew it irked Granger and Weasley to no end. He caught Blaise's eye from where the other man sat across the room. He smirked.

"Now, I believe all the necessary arrangements have been made." McGonagalls voice carried over the din of the crowd and the students quieted down. "Now, as our staff returns I shall explain today's task's rules."

Granger sat up straighter, and Draco fought the urge to gag.

"Today's subject is Herbology. Your task is to repot a plant that will be randomly drawn from this goblet." She raised a goblet and shook it a little. "The plant that you will be replanting is hidden inside the castle. Once you find your plant, you must take it to Greenhouse Three, where you can find the appropriate tools necessary for replanting."

She paused. "If you desire a hint to the location of your plant, you may ask a teacher. They will be patrolling the halls with the exception of Professor Sprout. However, that will be taken into account when we tally up your score. Points will be awarded for how long it took to complete today's task, and how well the plant is replanted. Are there any questions?"

The students murmured silently to themselves.

"Please send a representative to choose a plant. I will let you know when you may begin."

Swallow stood up in a rush and left hurriedly to the staff table. He got in line with the other students. Granger turned to Draco.

"You knew what the task was, didn't you?" She asked.

"You just need to know the right people," Draco smirked.

"But how?"

"I have my ways, Granger." Draco stopped smirking as he caught Avery staring daggers at him.

"So how do we win then?" Weasley frowned. "I know Neville is pretty good at Herbology, so there isn't a way we could beat him, is there?"

"Longbottom's got this one in the bag." Draco droned. "All I want is to wipe that smirk off of Avery's face."

Weasley nodded. "For once, we might agree."

Granger looked worried. "But what plant will they give us?"

Lovegood was staring up at the ceiling. "I don't think that they'll give us something deadly."

Granger relaxed at the words. "You're right. They won't give us something that the younger years wouldn't be able to handle."

Voices of the spectators came to his ears, and he glanced their way. A large group of them were watching their group, particularly the girls. Of course, they had groupies.

"Just what I need," Draco groaned, "an audience."

"You don't like the attention?" Weasley grinned. "I thought that a daddy's boy like you would just love the spotlight."

"I'm not Potter, Weasley." Draco snapped. "I don't concern with what others think of me."

Weasley glared at him. She was going to retort when Lovegood interjected. "Then why don't you like the audience?"

Draco glanced towards Avery, who was no longer glaring daggers at him and was instead huddled with his teammates.

"Think," he said slowly, changing the topic. "What would you do if you were in Avery's position?"

"He would try to cheat." Weasley said slowly.

"He would try to stop us." Granger nodded. "He would try to jinx us somehow."

"You're finally learning. With the staff all around the castle, it wouldn't be that hard to find a secluded corridor." Draco said. "If I were him, I would try to attack when our backs were turned."

"And you wouldn't?" Weasley shot at him. "You wouldn't try to do that to us?"

Draco smirked. "The last thing I would do is sabotage my own efforts."

"And what about—"

"Enough, Ginny." Granger interrupted. Weasley shot her a look. "Arguing about it now isn't going to do anyone any good." She turned to him. "Besides, I don't think he can anymore."

"What do you mean?" Lovegood asked.

"I think that if he tries anything that McGongall will expel faster than you could say Quidditch."

Weasley and Lovegood were smiling, though probably for different reasons. Granger was watching him. And all Draco wanted was to go back to his room and be with Elizabeth. Just at that time Swallow returned brandishing the scrap of parchment like it had come from the Goblet of Fire and not a simple cup.

"It's Bubotuber." He said. He handed the paper to Granger. "We also need to collect its pus."

"An extra assignment?" Granger looked at the parchment.

"Each plant has one." Swallow shrugged. "That's why it took so long."

"Collecting Bubotuber Pus isn't that hard." Granger said quickly. "We just have to be careful not to touch it."

Draco glanced toward the doors, where Filch was now stood. The hall quieted down suddenly, as if it had been planned. The air held excitement crackling with anticipation. All eyes turned to the crone now standing at the staff table.

"You may begin." She said.

The whole hall erupted in movement. Each team was struggling to be out of the hall first, while the audience was busy trying to follow their favorite team. Draco stood up but held his place.

Granger was at his side, her voice harsh and low. "Don't do anything like last time."

Draco smirked but didn't look at her. "We'll play it your way this time Granger. Lead on."

From the corner of his eye he could see her astonishment as clear as day on her face. He didn't move as she tried to compose herself.

"I said 'Lead on', Granger. Or are you too used to following Potter?"

He could almost feel the anger coursing through her as she straightened. She stomped forward, delving into the crowd before her. At her heels went Lovegood, Weasley, and Swallow. The Hufflepuff glanced nervously at Draco as he passed. Draco smirked. The boy shuddered and turned back forward so quickly that Draco had a hard time hiding his grin.

He followed after them. He walked slowly, catching up to them as they exited the Great Hall. From here the teams all separated, going their own ways. The audience also thinned. Some students following their friends as they competed. However most of them made their way outside in the brisk autumn air to the greenhouses.

Granger stopped before the stairs. The others crowded around her. Draco glanced about, looking for the tell-tale black and yellow of the Bubotuber plant.

"Where do we try first?" Weasley asked.

Granger frowned. "I don't know. The castle is quite large. If I had Harry's map it wouldn't be as much a problem to search it."

Draco raised an eyebrow but kept silent. Potter had a map of the castle? How interesting. He tried to catch Granger's eye but she avoided his look.

"Well, I think we can rule out the common rooms." She said at last. "It wouldn't make sense to put them there with all of the teams the way they are."

"Wouldn't it though?" Lovegood asked quietly. Everyone looked at her. "It's not as though we don't have a member of each house in each team. If they wanted inter-house unity, wouldn't they want us to go to the common rooms?"

Draco shook his head.

"I think you're right." Granger said slowly. "Then should we head to the common rooms?"

"But which one?" Swallow asked.

"It wouldn't make sense to split up the group." Weasley said. "We should stick together."

"We could always use out patronuses to tell each other if we do." Granger said.

Draco shook his head. "I'm rubbish at patronus charms." All of them looked at him as if he was insane. "But I agree that we shouldn't split the group up."

He glanced about. No one was around anymore save for a few groupies watching them from afar. Avery and his friends weren't in sight. McGongall wasn't even present; presumably she was headed to the greenhouses.

Granger nodded slowly. "I hate to say it but he has a point." She ignored the looks Lovegood and Weasley was giving her. "Sebastian?"

"Yes?"

"Where would you look first?"

"Why ask me?" The boy went red. "I don't know where it is."

"Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders." Lovegood whispered. "I think that you would have the best chance at finding it."

"I don't know…" He trailed off.

"Go with your gut," encouraged Weasley

Swallow swallowed. "But I really shouldn't."

"Shouldn't what?" Granger asked.

"I shouldn't be taking anyone to the common room." The boy said quickly. "No one outside the Hufflepuff house has been there in over a thousand years."

"Take it from me, some traditions are meant to be broken." Draco said.

"Said like a Slytherin." Weasley hissed. "Can't you see this is hard for him?"

"His loyalty isn't in question." Draco retorted. "I'm only is asking him what he values more."

"Uh, guys? I'm right here." But the boy's voice was drowned out as Weasley shouted back.

"And you should let him make the decision on his own!"

"Some decisions need to be made for you."

"Like how you decided to kill Dumbledore?"

Draco narrowed his eyes. "At least I made my own decisions, Weasley. You have to follow the skirts of better wizards."

Both of them had their wands out and pointed at each other within seconds. His eyes narrowed. Should he defend first or fight? If he were to throw the first punch as it were, he would be expelled so fast it wouldn't be funny. If he defended himself he might have a chance to explain himself and stay at Hogwarts.

"Enough!" Granger stepped between the two of them. The two wands were wedged between her. "Not now!"

Draco gave on hard look at Weasley. Finally he jerked his hand down. He stowed his wand away. A second later Weasley lowered her own wand down. Granger looked at both of them in turn. She definitely was angry, and definitely was disappointed. Whether or not that disappointment was meant for her or meant for him he didn't know.

"I'll take you to the common room." The Hufflepuff said softly, though his voice carried in the empty room. "But I won't let you inside."

Draco smirked. "See? That wasn't that hard."

Weasley and Granger stared at him, and he could've sworn he heard Weasley curse him out under his breath. "Lead on, Sebastian." Granger said while still looking at Draco.

Swallow walked quickly to the stairs. Lovegood followed. Weasley and Granger shot him dark looks before following. Sighing, Draco followed at a good distance. He glanced behind him every so often, though he didn't spot anyone.

Swallow led them down a flight of stairs and under ground level. Taking a turn here and there, he led them past a giant portrait of a fruit dish. He stopped before a large wall of barrels on their sides. The oversized caskets were large enough for a man to stand inside of them, and they spanned from wall to wall to the ceiling.

The boy walked over to a barrel and knocked several times to a simple rhythm. The barrel opened up, revealing space just large enough for a man to crawl inside. He got on his hands and knees and hesitated at the entrance. "I'll be right back." He said.

Draco turned and leaned up against a barrel. As Swallow entered the barrel it closed behind him. If he hadn't known which barrel he had knocked on, he couldn't tell which one it was. He also was quite sure that in a few days' time he wouldn't know which barrel it would be. And quite frankly, he couldn't care more where the Hufflepuff common room was. Who would want to go there?

Minutes passed as they waited. Lovegood was mimicking Draco and was leaning against the barrels. Weasley was pacing back and forth, her wand in her hand. Granger was sat on the ground a ways away.

"There they are."

Everyone turned to look to where they had come from. It was Avery and his team. The Slytherin and his fellow housemate both had their wands out at them. The three other students also had their wands out, though they seemed hesitant.

"Avery." Draco got up and brought out his wand.

The others also stood; though other than Weasley the other girls hadn't had their wands out.

"I still don't think this is a good idea." The Gryffindork said.

"What did I say?" Avery turned to him, exasperated. "If we take them out, that's one less team to worry about!"

"But why does it—"

"You don't waste your time on the weaker dogs then the strong ones still remain!" Avery snarled. "Bombarda!" He flourished his wand at them.

"Protego!"

Both Draco and Weasley waved their wands and the spell was bounced back toward the barrels next to them. One of them burst a hole, and vinegar poured out over them. The five teens were blinded by the liquid, and they sputtered as they tried to make the barrel stop flowing,

Granger got to her feet, wand out, though she looked hesitant. "What do we do?" She asked quietly.

"We fight fire with fire, Granger." Draco snarled. "I want payback."

"Now is not the time."

"They just tried to explode my face, Granger, I'm not asking for permission." Draco hissed.

Just then the Hufflepuff came out of the barrel, in his hands a hideous black slug with yellow boils in a pot. "I got it! I got it!" He looked about. "What's going on?"

"Ginny, take Luna and Sebastian to the Greenhouse and start repotting." Granger ordered. The woman stood taller and her voice came out as a command. For the first time that Draco had seen, Granger had taken the role as a leader seriously.

"Hermione—"

"Please do it." Granger pleaded. "If we hold them here, you can get a head start on the task."

"We?" Draco asked. "Who said that you were invited?"

"They just tried to hurt my friends, Malfoy, I'm not asking for permission." Granger shot him a hard look.

He smirked. "This should be fun."

Just then the vinegar stopped flowing, the barrel resealing itself. Sputtering and spitting out the acidic liquid, Avery got back to his feet. Half-blind, he fired another spell at them.

"Go!" Granger commanded again. She waved her wand again and the jinx was dispelled.

Hurried footsteps went backwards from them as the three of them retreated. Draco smirked once more as he blocked another spell. The other three houses present in Avery's team all had their wands out, but they seemed to be more aggressive now. Whether that be because of the vinegar assault or the idea that facing only two opponents instead of five was more appealing Draco didn't know.

For a second nothing happened, as the two sides looked at each other. There was something in their eyes. Regret? Hate? Anger? Fear? Draco couldn't tell exactly. All he knew that in that moment they were just young adults looking at each other. The war and its horrors replayed itself in his mind. He ignored the screams.

Then everything exploded into motion.

The five of them attacked in almost perfect unison. Jinxes and curses soared their way. On any other pair they might have stood a chance. However, Draco had been trained by the very best duelists among the Death Eaters. And Granger was, well, Granger. Their shields were up before the spells were connected. The spells ricocheted again, some hitting the barrels once more. Vinegar poured out at the five again, however a well-timed shield charm blocked the vinegar from falling onto them directly.

"Don't hurt them." Granger hissed.

Draco hesitated, the spell on his lips forgotten. "How the hell am I supposed to fight back then?"

"Not everything has to end in bloodshed." Granger blocked another wave of spells with a shield, before retaliating. The Retardclaw on their team tried to wave his wand but nothing came out. "Just incapacitate them."

Draco frowned, but jumped to the side. The spot where he had been had been blasted by Avery, who seemed to be focusing his attention on him and only him. Draco slid as he landed, the slick surface sliding him into the wall. He went down to one knee, but kept his wand up. He blocked what looked to be the reductor curse. He waved his wand and Avery went up into the air by his ankles.

Avery was suspended in midair, right where the vinegar would hit him in the head. His face was directly in line with the spray. Boils sprouted from Draco's skin. He glanced down at the others. Draco narrowed his eyes. With another wave of his wand, one of the students was frozen in place. The Gryffindork on their team was too frozen as Granger cast her spell. A second later the final combatant, the poor Hufflepuff, was without a wand.

Draco got up from his kneeling position. He waved his wand over himself and whispered the counter jinx. The boils disappeared as quickly as they came. He stowed his wand and surveyed their handiwork.

"Does everything you do have to end with bloodshed?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "But I didn't do anything this time." They stepped around the other teens, the frightened students backing away from them, and hurried back to the stairs.

Granger waved her wand at them and the vinegar stains disappeared though the scent lingered. "I know that wand movement well enough, Malfoy. Curses like that are unforgivable."

Draco scoffed. "I'll have you know that it wasn't Crucio, Granger. I have standards."

"Do you?" She said. "You always seem to be provoking one of us whenever you're in the room with us."

"Provoking is my right." Draco smirked. "But I have standards when it comes down to dueling."

"And you only have standards then?" Granger asked. "I thought you and Parkinson were a thing."

"Oh dear Merlin no." Draco groaned. "I wouldn't touch Pansy with a ten foot pole."

Granger laughed. "I think I can understand why."

Draco frowned. "I don't see how it's so funny."

"It's just," Granger said, "that a few years ago she was hanging off of you and you liked it. And now you won't even touch her."

"Who said that I liked it?" Draco said softly. His father came to mind, and he shivered. "And why is it funny that I can change?"

Granger was silent.

"I'm not the same person as I was then, Granger."

"I know that."

"Do you?" He asked. "You can see that I'm trying to be different. Why can't you accept that I'm not the same person?"

"You may say that you're different," Granger said slowly, "but you still act like an arrogant git."

"That's who I am." He grinned.

"That may be who you are, but it reminds me too much of the asshole who let Death Eaters into Hogwarts."

Draco went silent, his grin gone.

"You have a long track record of being a right git. That isn't going away anytime soon."

"Of course it isn't." Draco whispered. "I don't expect it to." Elizabeth came to mind. "Besides, I have a reason to be better now."

"A reason? That's all it took?" Granger stopped walking and turned to him in the entrance hall. "And what will happen when that is taken away?"

Draco stopped too. "I—I don't want to think about it." He rushed.

"Then maybe you haven't changed at all."

She started walking away, heading outside. He followed from behind, following slowly. As they turned to the greenhouses Draco stopped moving.

"Granger!" She stopped. "I'm not going to quit this time."

She turned to look at him. "I'll believe it when I see it."

She walked away, heading to the crowd gathered by the greenhouses. Draco stood there for quite some time. Thoughts ran through his head. Professor Snape and his words at the forefront. He swallowed hard, and something akin to a rock settled itself into his stomach. It weighed him down and he could feel himself recoil from it. He took in deep breaths, clearing his mind.

If he was going to be a better person, if he was going to be a better man, if he was going to be a better father; he would do this for her. He would do this for Elizabeth. He would be a man she could be proud to call her father. He would do what it takes to be that man. Even if it meant putting away a side of him that has been with him since he started Hogwarts.

But try as he might that rock inside of him wasn't leaving.

He let out the air in his lungs in an angry rush. Breathing in the crisp air, he could feel his nerves alight. Purposefully, ignoring the parts of him that wouldn't leave, he strode forward to the crowd and his team.

He would be a better man. Even if the first step took all year long.

Shadow: Finally, we get to some see some wand work. Even though it didn't last long...

Static: Please Review!


	9. Chapter 9

Time Stop:We don't own a thing.

Wang: Sneaky little hobbitses.

Time Stop: ... that's the wrong franchise.

Chapter 9: Caught

It was Friday night in early November. After taking second place in the previous task, the students had been talking about the mysterious duel that had taken place against Avery and his team. While no one came forward with any information, the most prevalent rumor was that Draco Malfoy had single-handedly beaten them. Draco was fine with the rumor, even if it came with a side order of Granger tsking at him every so often for his behavior. Behavior he would point out that she had participated in.

He slouched, leaning against the wall in the corridor. He looked up and down the hall. It had to be close to nine thirty. No one was out and about at this hour. Most of the students were already in their common rooms with their friends and their lives. Instead, he was stuck patrolling the halls.

He stood up straight, rolling his shoulders. He glanced about. He should skip out early tonight. Elizabeth was waiting for him, and he wanted to be with his daughter badly. He frowned. Granger would have a field day if she found out that he had skived off a portion of his patrol.

He glanced about again, as if Granger would suddenly appear out of the woodwork. She had taken to follow him around, as if keeping tab on him. No, she was keeping tabs on him. It was as if she was making sure that he had messed up. He narrowed his eyes. He wasn't messing up. He was choosing to be a better father than a better Head Boy.

As if he could tell Granger that.

He came to a staircase. He was on the first floor now. He could climb up to the sixth floor and go into his room before anyone saw him. Though, he would need some aid to be keep out of sight. He waved his wand over his head, and felt egg trickling down his neck. He looked down at his hands. He was disillusioned all right.

He hurried, taking care to be as quiet as possible. His soft footsteps still reverberated throughout the halls. He made it to the Hogwarts Crest without incident. Before he could invoke the password the crest opened. Avery was coming out of it, glancing about nervously. Draco hesitated before slipping to the side.

Avery took another long look down the hall before moving swiftly towards the stairs. Draco fingered his wand. Jinxing Avery sounded like a wonderful idea. But if he did, then he would be asked questions by Granger, such as why was he on the sixth floor when he was scheduled to be on the first and second floor?

He let go of his wand when Avery turned the corner. He looked to the crest, which still had the stairs opened for him. He entered, and the crest closed. The common room was filled with students, though there was a clear path to the Head's Doorway. Lovegood and Weasley were sitting on a table by the fire, pouring over parchment with Longbottom.

Draco hurried, ignoring stealth for speed. His footsteps were silenced by the thick rug and the people talking amongst themselves. He stopped right in front of the doorway to the Head's Quarters. Someone had said his name. he glanced behind him. Longbottom repeated his name, pointing at the parchment.

He shivered, and went through the door. He cast the proper counter spell on the landing, and opened his door. When the door was closed, he went to his baby's room door and opened it. Blaise was relaxing in the chair, watching his baby who was laying on her back.

Blaise looked up. "You're back early."

"Skiving." Draco answered. He knelt down to his child, and lay next to her. "Don't tell Granger."

"Believe me, I won't." Blaise stood up. "I'm gonna leave if you're here then."

"Fine."

'Wanna get a head start on that Herbology Essay." Blaise said. "Might ask Longbottom."

"He's in the common room." Draco said, not really paying attention. "With Lovegood and Weasley."

"He is?" Blaise leaned over and picked up his school bag. "You know that he's gonna ask Lovegood out any day now right?"

"Don't care."

"I know." Blaise put a handle on the door. "See ya tomorrow."

"Thanks," Draco whispered, but Blaise was already gone.

Elizabeth gurgled, and he turned to her. He smiled, and all the worries in the world were gone. He reached out and booped his daughter on the nose. She gurgled happily, turning to look at him. She reached out for him.

He sat up, bringing her up to him in one single motion. He let her feet dangle onto his lap, and he held her hands in his. She giggled, and he smiled. He booped his own nose with her hand, alternating between the two of them. Each time she touched him, he made a small cooing sound. She giggled some more and he smiled some more.

Playing wasn't something encouraged at the Malfoy household. Growing up had been spent practicing instruments, learning how to dance, and how to present oneself as a Pureblood from one of the oldest wizarding families. Playtime had ended for him almost as soon as he could stand. His only memory of playing that he truly had was the few time that he had spent socializing with the other boys his age at one of his parents many parties.

But Blaise was different. His mother had remarried often. As a result, Blaise had several younger siblings, the oldest not quite able to attend Hogwarts. Despite coming from an old wizarding line, and despite being a pureblood, the Zabini family defied normal conventions. This led to certain things being different for the upbringing for Blaise. One of those was playing.

Blaise had taught Draco several small games to play with Elizabeth. Most of those involved touch and song, all of those things which he was foreign to. But he was a Malfoy. The males of the Malfoy family learned quickly. He hadn't yet learned the songs yet by heart, but he was learning how to play.

And with Elizabeth in his lap, he touched her and kissed her gently. He let her pull on his finger or giggle and laugh at his antics. When she became hungry he got a bottle and fed her. That's when he saw his wand. It wasn't glowing blue. Over an hour had passed and Granger hadn't knocked yet, which was surprising.

He tossed his worries aside, and settled in to watch contentedly. His eyes started to close. He forced himself to stay awake. He couldn't sleep until she did. And even when he closed his eyes, it wouldn't be good for him. He would only see his nightmares once more. He rocked her after she had been fed.

He whispered to her, his words crooning in a gently baritone:

Rock-a-bye Baby, on the tree top

When the wind bows, the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall

And down will come Baby,

Cradle and all

He repeated the simple tune softly, letting his words ease her to sleep. He knew vaguely that the song that Blaise had taught him was muggle in origin. And that was fine for him. He wanted her to hear those simple songs. He wanted her to know them. He wanted her to be happy.

He drifted to sleep while sitting on the ground. She was in his arms, her tiny head resting on his shoulders.

He awoke suddenly. Both he and she had slept soundlessly for a few hours, as evidence to how full her diaper was and how tired he felt. He stood up, and carried her to the changing table. That's when he saw the silvery-white otter floating in the air.

"What the hell is that thing?"

Granger's voice came from the otter. "Malfoy, I know you're in there. Open the door. We need to talk. Now."

He groaned. "Fuck off, Granger."

He looked down at his daughter. She turned on the changing table, but hadn't woken up to hear his language.

"If you don't come on out I will get the Headmistress." The otter continued. "I don't think you'd like that."

Draco narrowed his eyes. He ignored the otter as best as he could, and focused on his daughter. He worked swiftly, cleaning and changing her diaper. He deposited the dirty diaper in the can by the table. He slowly lowered his child into the crib. He left the room, and closed the door. He opened the door. Granger stood there, hands on hips. Whatever had been on her lips had died before they left.

"You look like death."

Draco brought a hand to his face. He could feel the stubble. He cursed softly. One of the drawbacks of the self-care charms were that they expired whenever he fell asleep. As a result, he resumed looking like he hadn't properly taken care of himself for months.

He brought out his wand and cast the proper spells.

"You know, those spells won't fix the problem." She said sympathetically.

"Oh stuff it." He grumbled. "What the hell do you want?"

Granger straightened herself up. "I—"

"And how the hell did you get a patronus through my barriers?"

"That? Did you cast the charm?"

"Which charm, Granger? I've must have cast a dozen or so."

She nodded slowly. "That'll be my secret, Malfoy. Besides, we have bigger things to talk about."

"Like what."

"You know fully well what you did."

"You can't prove anything." Draco shot back. "Your little friends couldn't have seen me come in."

She blushed. "You knew that they were watching you?"

"Yes," Draco muttered. "What do you think I am, stupid or something? If you couldn't watch me, they would for you. Weasley would because she has nothing better to do. Lovegood would because you're her friend, and Longbottom would because he's head over heels for the Retardclaw."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway." She regained her composure. "You left off the last half hour of your patrol."

"I've much bigger things to do than to walk around empty corridors on a Friday."

"Like stay in your room all night?"

"Possibly."

"You might be the laziest ferret I know."

"And you are the nosiest witch." Draco countered. "Look, I was tired. It's been a bad week."

"It's been hard for all of us." Granger said softly. "Don't think you're the only one with nightmares."

"The war doesn't haunt me anymore, Granger."

"So what does?"

"Does it matter?"

"Ye-"

"Doesn't matter." He interrupted. "I was tired, I left early. What are you going to do, tell the Headmistress?"

"Maybe."

"I think that she'll be sympathetic considering what we have gone through."

Which was a total lie. Draco knew perfectly well that if McGonagall caught wind of what he was doing that she would have his hide.

"Maybe for me, but not for you."

"Just because I was on the other side doesn't mean that my horrors aren't as valid."

She hesitated. "Didn't you say that you weren't plagued by the war anymore?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does."

Draco sighed. "Maybe not for me."

"Why don't you admit it?" She leaned in close and whispered. "You hate it here."

"I do." Draco said. "I wouldn't be here if I hadn't another choice."

"Another choice?"

"I didn't come here out of my volition, Granger. And it doesn't matter why, don't even think about asking."

She narrowed her eyes. "You are quite possibly the worst person."

"I don't know about worst, but I'm certainly one of a kind."

"I thought you had changed, Malfoy."

"I thought we already had this conversation, Granger." He leaned down and whispered. "I am a busy man. I'm trying to change. Now get off my back and let me live my life."

He closed the door. He glanced at his wand where it stuck out of his pocket. It was glowing blue. He bit down his anger and frustration into a grunt instead of a yell. He reopened the door.

"Now what?"

"We're not done."

"Yes we are."

He closed the door, but it closed on her foot. He groaned, reopening it. "Make it quick."

"Why, so you could do nothing again?" She smirked.

"No, bathroom." He lied. "Now hurry it up."

"We caught Avery, when I was looking for you."

Avery had been caught? What the hell was he doing? And how the hell had he been caught? Avery might be a slimy git, but he was a slippery slimy git.

"I thought that your friends had found me." He said, catching onto the second part of her statement.

"Harry's map helped," she admitted. "So-"

"Potter has a what?"

"So I was looking for you."

"No you weren't." Draco smirked. "I'll let Potter's map go, but how the hell did you get Avery?"

Granger hesitated. "I was waiting by the library, in the restricted section."

"Oh? Not patrolling properly?"

"Well, the library entrance is on your floor. I would be able to keep track of you and keep track of the restricted section."

Realization came to him. "You were hedging on that someone would be coming back to the restricted section."

She smiled. "I caught Avery back in there, thanks to a tip."

"Tip?"

"Some of the portraits said that they had seen a student disillusion themselves. Word spreads quickly."

Draco nodded, ignoring the fatal flaw in his plan to skiv off the remaining half hour of his patrol. "So what was he doing?"

"Looking at the ancient ritual section."

"And?"

"I took him to McGonagall. She searched his room and found a whole list of books he was aiming to get, and a whole pile of missing books."

"A whole pile of missing books?"

"Seems he had taken far more than the ones we had thought."

"That sneaky bastard."

"McGonagall is looking through them now. And Avery has a whole month worth of detentions."

"Good for us, I guess."

"Yeah."

The silence grew between them.

"Don't do it again, Malfoy."

"I'll do what I need to do." Draco stepped back. "Now you've had your fun. Would you let me piss in peace?"

Granger frowned, narrowing her eyes at his language, but she did indeed step back from the door. He closed it, locking it behind him. He leaned against it and let out a huge sigh of relief.

He returned to his daughter, who was sleeping soundlessly in the crib. He stood there, watching her for a few minutes before sitting down in the chair. He fell fast asleep, ready to be plagued by his nightmares.

He woke up to her cries. She was hungry. He rubbed at his eyes. He hadn't slept that bad in weeks. He stumbled to his feet and stretched. His body protested. He ignored the stiffness in his shoulders and back and bent over to pick up his daughter from the crib.

Once she was in his arms and being fed he let himself collapse back in his chair. He was so tired. But he was used to being tired. Pepperup Potions were the norm for him now. However, they still worked about as well as cheering charms did nowadays. The tired still showed. Just today was worse than ever.

He looked down at his glowing blue wand. He groaned aloud. It was probably Granger. It was probably her wanting him to do some inane bull. He settled into the chair and watched his baby. Whatever it was, it could wait.

"Now hold a damn second, Granger."

"It's well past breakfast. There's no reason he should still be in there!"

Draco's eyes opened wide. What the bloody hell was going on?

"Get the hell out, Granger."

"And he gives you wand access to his room whenever you want? Really, Zabini, I didn't know you and Draco were together."

"We're not, Granger. Now if you don't get the hell out I will curse you."

"I'd like to see you try."

Draco waved his wand, and everything that was in sight of the door moved to the side of the room. He got up from his seat, and walked to the crib on the other side of the room. He set her down. Immediately she began to fuss. While the room was sound proof, that didn't change the fact that the spell wouldn't work while the door was opened.

"I'm going to see him."

"I advise against it."

"There's no reason that he should be allowed to stay inside all weekend, every weekend!"

"The Headmistress allows it, why can't you?"

"I don't like it."

"Or rather, you don't trust him yet."

"…Yes."

"So why can't you follow her example?"

"The Headmistress has him watched. He's on 'special' assignments all the time. I don't call that trust."

"You don't know him like I do." A pause. "That sounds wrong. You know what I mean."

"I have a right to know."

"You also have a right to shove off."

"I'm going to see him. He's in there, isn't he?"

"If you open that door, you're gonna set off a trap."

"A trap?"

"That's what he told me."

"Sounds like he's lying."

"You're welcome to try it if you like."

Draco tried setting down Elizabeth again, but the baby wailed again. Draco groaned. He clutched his baby in one hand, and his wand in the other. If Granger did go through that door, he would curse her so hard that she wouldn't know what hit her.

"…I'll take your word for it then."

"Good."

There was silence on the other side of the door. Just what was happening over there? Get rid of her, Blaise! Get rid of her!

"He hasn't slept in his bed once, hasn't he?" It was Granger's voice, soft and quiet.

"I don't think so. He doesn't get much sleep."

"Cause of the war."

"…One of many reasons."

"The nightmares don't plague you, Zabini?"

"I was at Hogwarts all last year. I didn't fight." A pause. "I left with the rest of Slytherin House at the final battle."

"The Carrows didn't bother you?"

"I didn't support him, if that's what you're asking. Believe it or not, there are Slytherins who aren't all about blood purity."

"But Draco is."

"I wouldn't say that." A pause. "Haven't you noticed?"

"What?"

"He's been keeping his temper."

"Not two days ago he cursed a pair of third years. I wouldn't call that keeping in his temper."

"I will say that he isn't the brightest and best role model. But he isn't the same person as he was the year before."

"What makes you think that?"

"You weren't here when he was last year." Blaise said softly. "He might be a right git, but he is a totally different person when compared to last year and the year before."

"If I remember correctly he cursed several students and brought in death eaters to kill Dumbledore."

"But he didn't kill him himself. You said it yourself at his trial: 'Draco Malfoy may have been a death eater, but he was and is just another child who had been thrust into the middle of a war. Malfoy was very young when he was taught about he-who-must-not-be-named and his followers. As his father is a Death Eater, we can only assume that Lucius's stories of how great the Death Eaters are had skewed his son's perception of reality. Draco Malfoy isn't evil, he is a product of an environment of hatred and prejudice.'"

"…You memorized that?"

"I was there, Granger. Between you and Potter you gave him a second chance at life. And Draco is changing for the better. You can't blame him if old habits die hard."

"I suppose."

"Now, can you please leave? He has things to do, and I promised that I would deliver this to him."

"…You're a good friend, Zabini."

"All for my own self-interest, of course."

"Spoken like a Slytherin." There was a soft laugh. "Malfoy doesn't deserve you."

"No, but he is my friend."

"I see." A pause. "Can you pass a message for me then?"

"What?"

"Professor Weber wants me to remind him that he can still turn in his paper today for credit."

"The one about dueling?"

"The same."

"He saw Draco duel in class the other day. There's no need for a paper about theory."

"If he wants to pass his classes, he would need to turn in the paper anyway."

"Fine, fine. I'll pass it along, Granger."

"Thanks, Zabini."

"Don't mention it, Granger."

There was the soft click of a door closing. Draco sighed in relief. His shoulders slumped, and he almost fell over. Elizabeth reached up and pawed at his face. He rearranged his grip on her. The door opened and Blaise stuck his head in.

"What the hell happened?" Draco hissed. "How'd she get in?"

"The coast was clear when I got up to the landing. I knocked, then opened the door. Just as I opened the door she slipped out of her room and into yours before I could close the door."

"Seriously?"

"She's a sneaky little witch. She must have waited for me to come by."

"It's no secret you drop by every so often."

"She is too nosy for her own good." Blaise opened the door further and leaned against the door jamb. "I assume you heard everything."

"Every word."

"Then you know about her message?"

"Yeah." He groaned. "As much as I hate to admit it, but Granger is right. If I don't turn in that paper I'm going to fail Defense."

"Well, is it done?"

"Its done as well as it is going to be at this rate." Draco smirked. "You mind watching her while I quick deliver it?"

Blaise nodded. "But, uh, I would clean up a bit before you leave. You look like death."

"You're the second person to say that to me."

"Oh?"

"Granger caught me skiving. My spells expired right before I saw her."

"She's right you know. You look terrible."

"It is what it is."

Draco waved his wand, and the self-care spells took effect. He felt better about himself, but still felt hollow on the inside. "I should be about ten minutes if I hurry."

"More than that." Blaise reached over and took Elizabeth from Draco. She cooed and giggled. "Avery is on the hunt for you, as is Pansy."

"What?"

"Avery got a whole string of detentions last night for being out after dark. McGonagall went through the dorm and everything. I think he blames you for this, even though you weren't around."

"Typical Avery."

"He wants revenge. And Pansy wants to talk to you about, well, you two."

Draco groaned. "Who did I piss off to deserve this?"

"Don't ask me." Blaise smiled at Elizabeth. "There's a plate of sandwiches on the table in there. You should eat something."

Draco smirked. "More so that I have energy to face Avery or Pansy, am I right?"

"Yeah." Blaise nodded. "I've got a meeting with my team to talk about the next task, so be quick."

"They released it already?"

"This morning they left a note saying it will be Transfiguration, held for next week on Tuesday. We have a few days left to prepare for it."

"Good to know."

"Yeah. My meetings is in about an hour. Hurry up and be back before I gotta leave."

"Telling me what to do, Blaise?"

Blaise nodded. "I am. You are interrupting a very important date between your daughter and her favorite uncle."

"Who said you were her uncle?"

"I did."

Draco closed his eyes. "I guess you are. I'll be back soon."

He left and closed the door. He eyed the sandwiches, and nabbed two. He ate one quickly, leaving the other to be in his hand. He would eat that as he went down to the second floor to Professor Weber's room.

He left his room and headed down through the common room without incident. He hurried down the stairs to the second floor, passing a few other students who weren't studying. He did pass by one of Avery's friends, who ran away with a small squeak. Draco hurried up. With his luck, he would have Avery hounding after him before too long.

He knocked and entered the man's office without permission.

"Mr. Malfoy." The German said in his accented English. "I believe you are here to turn in your paper."

Draco nodded. He held out his hand, the parchment in his hand. The man took the parchment, and glanced at it.

"It's quite short."

"There wasn't much for me to say."

"Your skill in Defense may be considerable, but I know plenty of wizards who are less skilled than you but who would win in a duel."

"Cause of dumb luck."

"Because they know how to prepare themselves." Professor Weber corrected. "Half of the battle is knowing your opponent. If you are not prepared, you will lose."

"Is that how you came to work here, Professor? You failed?"

"I came, because Miss. Minerva asked me to." The man stroked his wide handlebars. "I was there when The Dark Lord came to visit Grindlewald. We knew he was coming, but we wouldn't stop someone like him. Germany didn't want another incident regarding The Dark Lord again. Believe me when I say this, Mr. Malfoy, that we would have made The Dark Lord regret visiting Nurmengard."

Draco shivered. "So why come here?"

"Because Miss. Minerva asked me to." The man repeated himself. "Your paper is satisfactory in length, Mr. Malfoy, and that is only because I know your prowess in a duel. For the future, see to it that your essays are longer. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes," Draco nodded. "May I leave?"

"Proceed."

Draco left the room, closing the door behind him. He stood there for a moment collecting his thoughts. Weber was talented in Defense, but he also seemed like he was preparing for a war at any moment. The Dark Lord was gone, life was finally clear for once. There was no one, at least that Draco knew of, that the world should be worried about.

He heard voices coming from down the hall. He strained his ears and groaned. It was Avery and his friends. There had to be at least five of them. The last thing he needed was Avery to duel him. He turned to the other direction and hurried up. He sped up, aiming to go to the other staircase to head up to the third floor and the relative safety of his room.

Then he heard a voice coming from the other direction. "Draco? Honey?"

He groaned louder. Of all people coming to him, why was it Pansy Parkinson? He glanced about, and spotted an open door. He went inside, aiming to hide. He cursed softly as he spied the bathroom stalls. It was the girl's laboratory. He heard the footsteps coming closer. Without a second thought, he went to the closest stall and went inside, locking it behind him.

"Hello, Draco."

Draco closed his eyes and turned around. "Hello Myrtle."

A girl with large glasses and watery eyes was sitting on the toilet, staring at him. She looked the same as he had left her back in sixth year. Small, loud, and with a terrible penchant for crying; Moaning Myrtle had been his confidant back in sixth year.

"You haven't been around to visit."

"It's been a busy few years."

"It's like you don't like me." She sobbed.

"Listen, Myrtle." Draco said quietly, trying to calm down the ghost. "You do know what the world has been through, right?"

"I know that Professor Dumbledore has died. I know that Voldemort has died." Draco cringed slightly at the name. "I know that Professor Snape has died. What does that have to do with you?"

"I was involved with all of them." Draco said quickly. "I will make it up to you, Myrtle, I swear. But I've got to get going."

"But you only just arrived!"

"Loads of school work, seventh year and all."

She began to cry. The toilets began to rattle, the water began to spill over. Draco used that as his cue to leave. He hurried out of the bathroom, Myrtle's screams following him. Thankfully, both Pansy and Avery and company were gone. He hurried along with his wand out, and his ears kept on ringing with the sobbing from the ghost.

He closed his eyes when he got to the staircases. It had been a long day already. What he needed was about three days of sleep. A Pepperup Potion and another sandwich would have to suffice. He took the stairs quickly, and headed for the sixth floor.

Shadow: Interesting, very interesting. I was wondering when Pansy would make her reappearance.

Static: Wasn't much of a reappearance. We just get her voice.

Shadow: Do you really want to see here face?

Static: Point well taken.

Shadow: Please Review!


	10. Chapter 10

Wang: I'm so sorry!

Shadow: We lost power yesterday, so we're a day behind.

Wang: I'm so sorry!

Shadow: We don't own anything.

Chapter 10: Task 3

Tuesday after breakfast had classes cancelled and the teams all together like before. The third task was transfiguration, and Draco had no clue what the old crone had in store for them. But, he was thankful that he was full at least.

Instead of the five long tables that would be used for the meals, dozens of smaller, circular tables were spaced out. The walls held snacks and refreshments, and the younger students leaned up against walls or sat together in huddled groups. The staff table had been replaced by a smaller rectangular table, where eight wooden blocks sat upon it in a line.

Draco sat close to that table with the rest of the team. Each table had just enough chairs for the members of that team. Each table had a corresponding number of blocks, one per team member. He sat between the Hufflepuff and Granger. Lovegood and Weasley sat across from him. Weasley fingered her wand, and seemed to stare angrily at Draco. He ignored her as best he could, and half-focused on the rambling conversation that Lovegood and Swallow were having. Granger kept silent, staring at the wooden blocks in front of her.

The other teams didn't talk much. Hushed whispers crept throughout the hall. Several Retardclaws had taken out assignments, and were dutifully scratching upon them.

The old crone entered the Great Hall, flanked by Professor Smith. The tall, thin man loped to the front of the room, to stand at the table with the eight blocks. The other professors which dotted here and there around the room perked up and waited for the old crone to speak.

"Welcome to the third task." The Headmistress walked past tables slowly. "Today's subject in question is Transfiguration. Professor Smith, if you may demonstrate to us what we are doing today?"

The professor nodded. He flourished his wand, and waited a moment. Whether that was for dramatics or because the man didn't know what he was doing, Draco wasn't entirely sure. A few seconds later, the professor's wand moved, and the eight blocks slowly changed shape. Draco couldn't hide the surprise as his eyebrows shot up. The man had just used a complicated spell to transform eight objects into different things.

Perhaps there was a reason that this man from America was here as a professor.

"Your task for today, is to transfigure your block into another shape." The old crone went on. "Each member of your group is responsible for the block that is in front of them. Now, as you will note from Professor Smith, each block that is transformed met a similar theme. In this case, butterflies."

Eight different varieties of butterflies sat resting on the table. Some of the younger student's eyes went wide with amazement. The butterflies took off, and floated around the room.

"Now, your own transformations do not have to be a living thing. But, it must fit within the theme of the group's choice. Points shall be rewarded for the complexity of the transfiguration and how creative your team can be. You have one hour, at which point your team will be examined. You may begin."

Professor Smith brought out a large hourglass and upturned it. Before the first grains of sand had fallen through, the different groups around the room were clamoring. Draco turned his attention from the hourglass to the block in front of him.

Swallow was looking sullenly at his block, while the girls were all talking rather quickly. Well, Granger and Weasley were talking rather quickly while Lovegood was silently listening. Draco waved his wand at his block, and it trembled slightly before changing into a small newt. The animal tried to run away but he waved his wand again and it transformed into a box once more. He repeated it, changing the block ahead of him into a miniature broomstick, and then back into a block.

He cast another spell, and a small version of an Atipodean Opaleye. The small, white dragon curled up and rested in his hand. He set down his wand and pet the dragon, scratching it gently at the base of its head where it met the neck.

"That's wonderful, Malfoy. But would you like to join the conversation?"

He looked up at Weasley's face. Everyone else was looking at him, as if expecting him to say something. "Why should I?" He yawned. "It sounds like you and Granger have things under control."

"That's the thing, Malfoy." Granger said, "We can't decide what the theme would be."

"And you want my input?" He asked credulously. "Whatever, I don't care."

"Malfoy…" Weasley fingered her wand.

"It literally doesn't matter. Figure it out amongst yourselves and I'll create something that matches."

"What about…" Lovegood started talking. But he ignored her and went on to pet his dragon. It snorted appreciatively, and closed its eyes. He stared down at it, silently marveling the pearly-white scales as the glistened in the light.

There was more arguing, more complaining, and more talking from his group. But he kept his head down, absently petting the dragon. He listened in on the other teams. Some were beginning to cast their spells, changing the blocks into something or another. He could feel Avery's gaze on him from time to time, even though he was across the room from him. That Slytherin git was angry, still probably fuming from the last task. The fact he couldn't take revenge or sabotage this task had to be extremely aggravating to him.

He smirked at the thought of Avery fuming in his seat. If anything, that could cheer him up.

"Malfoy!"

He looked up, at the other members of his group. Granger was looking at him, a miniature version of the Goblet of Fire taking form in front of her.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to turn your block into something useful for once?" Weasley smirked.

He narrowed his eyes. She was smirking his smirk! She was smirking the arrogant trademark that was his by right! "Depends. Have you ladies decided on something?"

Lovegood was concentrating hard on the block in front of her. It slowly shrank in size, becoming a small silver I. Draco glanced between that and Granger's cup, to the large cylindrical shaper Weasley was making. Swallow already was making the Hogwarts Crest, though the borders between the four animals representing the four houses were gone.

"So let me guess, you came up with Hogwarts."

Granger turned her attention back to her cup, continuing to wave her wand. "Luna came up with the idea. Each block will represent the different years of Hogwarts, going backwards from here."

Draco watched as Weasley slowly shaped the cylinder into something resembling a tower. "So we have fourth year, and fifth year." He said. "The tower is sixth year then?"

Weasley looked up at him. "Take long for you to figure that one out?"

He didn't look at her, but looked at Swallow's block. "So what year does he have? This year?"

The Hufflepuff kept on concentrating. "It's mean to represent the inter-house unity from the tasks."

Granger peaked over to look at it. "You're doing fine, Sebastian. But try to keep the colors somewhat close to the original."

Swallow swallowed. The colors indeed were all wrong, with Slytherin being a bright yellow and silver and Hufflepuff being red and blue. Draco hid his contempt well, and looked down at his block. It was still the dragon, though it slept comfortably in his hand.

"I guess that means I have last year then."

"Yes it does." Granger was back looking at her goblet, glancing every so often to the hourglass behind Draco. "You have just half an hour left to get that dragon turned into something representing last year."

Draco sighed. "Anything I want?"

Granger skootched her chair a little closer to him and spoke in low tones. "And do something impressive. Ginny and Sebastian aren't the best at Transfiguration."

Draco looked at the vaguely tower shaped thing in front of Weasley. "I can tell."

"Hate to say it, but you might have a good chance to impress the judge if you can pull something off."

Draco smirked. "Please, Granger, this is me we're talking about. I'm not an amateur when it comes to my transfiguration."

"You are when it comes to humility." Granger hissed back at him. "Make something impressive enough to the judges, but not too impressive."

"Don't want me to outshine you, Miss Moving-Flame?"

Indeed, as Granger concentrated on the cup in front of her, the top of it began to slowly move in flames. The other three creations were starting to take shape, but unlike Granger's and Lovegood's, Swallow's and Weasley's were subpar at best. Swallow was still trying to figure out how to change colors on the crest, while Weasley's tower had several sharp angles in it.

"The Goblet of Fire had fire moving." She said softly. "And no, I don't care if you outshine me. But if you create something too good, too perfect, it will put Sebastian and Ginny to shame."

"And both of them are on either side of me."

"Exactly."

"Well, Lovegood seems to be helping Swallow right now. If you hurry up, you could give Weasley a hand."

"We're not allowed to interfere with other people's blocks." Granger hissed.

"I'm not talking about directly changing it, I'm talking about pointers." Draco set his dragon on the table, where it perked up its head and looked up at him. "Isn't this whole damn thing about Inter-House unity and all that tripe? Wouldn't the right thing to do in this case was to help your team members, even if they were on the other team?"

Granger was silent, and after a moment skootched her chair closer to Weasley. Draco looked down at his dragon. It opened its eyes and looked at the goblet, mesmerized by the moving flames on the top of it. Lovegood and Granger were both done, or close enough to it that they could help the other two.

He took out his wand, and changed the dragon back into a block. He tapped his wand on the block in a steady rhythm. Nothing happened, only because he wasn't casting a spell. He was thinking. What would count as something as iconic from the past year? What would make the most sense to fit in the theme of Hogwarts?

His first choice was his daughter. But while that was important to him, it wouldn't have made sense for the rest of the theme. He needed something or someone important enough to tie the last year up into one tiny bow. One event, one person, one thing; something that made sense. Of course, the death of the Dark Lord was important. His final breaths had taken place on the grounds. He had died here, betrayed by his own wand. At least, that's what Potter had said to the Prophet.

And of course, Potter was an idea. It wouldn't be hard to change the block into a lightning bolt or a pair of glasses. But let's be real. Potter wasn't even a part of Hogwarts last year. He was running around England, doing Merlin knows what. He showed up at the end of last year, and created pandemonium. And he killed the Dark Lord. He couldn't forget that.

If Draco had to choose the one man who made all the difference in the world to Hogwarts last year, it wouldn't have been Potter or the Dark Lord. It wouldn't be a single student. But rather, the Headmaster. Professor Snape. He was the most key individual to Hogwarts last year.

That brilliant man had played his part perfectly. He deceived not only the most feared wizard of all time, but that man's followers and the wizards and witches who thought him the worst traitor of their time. He had single handedly kept the school under the Dark Lord's control, but at the same time saved the students inside of it from the potential death or Kiss from the Dementors. His cover wouldn't have been blown posthumously if it hadn't been for Potter and his meddling ways.

He was a brilliant man who had sheltered Draco for as long as he could. And Draco owed him much of his remaining humanity. Even if he couldn't give the man a proper tribute, this could do.

He tapped the block again, and it slowly began to change shape. Bit by bit the block shrunk and thinned itself out. The finer details of the face and the clothes had to be done after the fact, but the basic humanoid shape of a man came clear. More waves of his wand, and the block took on colors; black robes and buttoned all the way up, with oily looking hair and a pale, hooked nose of a face.

The more he spun his wand, the more details came into being. Causing the small man to move was easily done, but making the man talk in the likeness of the deceased Professor was much harder.

He glanced at the timer. Most of the sand was gone. They had only a minute or so left. No time to make the man properly speak. For now, Severus Snape could be a mime.

"Wands down," the old crone said, her voice ringing through the room. "Professor Smith and myself will be by shortly. Once we have visited your table you may leave to get refreshments. But do not leave."

The room murmured, and the professors began to move from table to table. Draco looked at the other creations. The Inquisitorial Squad pin was immaculate. And the Goblet of Fire looked to be of the same make as the one he had seen back in fourth year. The tower that Weasley had made was decidedly looking like a tower. It looked rough and like someone had hewn it from rock. But, it looked vaguely like the Astronomy Tower, so there was that. And…oh dear.

The Hogwarts Crest itself looked fine, but the colors were all wrong. The primary colors of green, red, blue, and yellow were all on the correct symbols. But the secondary colors were all wrong by several shades each. Swallow was head down, looking anywhere but his crest. Lovegood was whispering something to him.

Draco picked up his wand, and drummed on the table. Granger shot him a look, as if to warn him from doing anything. But nothing changed from the miniature professor which paced back and forth.

"Ah, Miss Granger. What is the theme of your group?" Professor Smith asked.

Granger looked up, as did Weasley. Draco eyed the two of them and the two professors. The attention was on each other. "It's the years of Hogwarts, the past five years." Granger said. "We decided to choose something that truly defined the year. As for me, I chose the Goblet of Fire."

"Yes, the Triwizard Tournament was very decisive." The man from America picked up the cup. "And remarkably well done, Miss Granger."

Granger blushed, but didn't say anything.

Professor McGonagall bent down to look at the Inquisitorial Squad pin. "Excellent transformation, Miss Lovegood." She said. "If I didn't know better, I would say Mr. Malfoy had brought out his old pin instead."

Weasley smirked once more at him. He scowled.

"And Miss Weasley," Professor Smith moved on to the tower. "I believe this is the Astronomy Tower."

"Yes, professor." Weasley looked up at the man. "I thought that the most definitive moment of the year was the death of our beloved Headmaster." She shot Draco a dirty look.

The man sniffed, as if struck by allergies. "Not well done, but there is a certain artistic flair in this. I believe the rough cut of the piece shows anger and resentment for what happened?"

The old crone coughed gently. "This isn't an art exhibit, Professor Smith. This is a test."

"Of course, of course." The man turned to Draco. "And Mr. Malfoy, what is it – by Merlin, is that Severus?"

The two professors crowded around Draco, who kept on knocking on the table with his wand. "Of course, professor." With his free hand, he held the miniature man up. "Would you care to see him closer?"

Professor Smith held the man in his open hands, and he stared at it rather closely. Professor McGonagall peered over her glasses at it. Draco kept on taping his wand as he spoke. "I thought about the war, of course. Potter and the Dark Lord came to mind. But only Professor Snape was vital to Hogwarts. He did his part for not only this school, but also the war. And he did it well." He winked at Granger and Weasley, who both hid their groans.

"Remarkable work, Mr. Malfoy. You may possess a talent for transfiguration."

"Perhaps, professor. But right now I think my calling is elsewhere." Draco kept on tapping his wand on the table. But he took the miniature Snape from the two professors.

"Yes, well. That means our last transfiguration. Mr. Swallow?"

The Hufflepuff didn't move.

"Do you mind explaining your choice for this year?"

The boy muffled something into the table.

"Speak up, Mr. Swallow." The old crone said sharply.

"I'm sorry bout the colors."

"The colors are fine." Professor Smith said. "But why did you choose a crest without borders?"

Swallow's head rose so fast that he almost fell out of his seat. The crest had the right, proper colors. "Uh, I did it cause of Inter-House unity?" He asked.

The American sniffed. "Well, good work at any rate. Next time, don't try to overcompensate with the colors. They are far too vivid. But good job with transfiguring the block."

The two of them walked off, leaving the five in silence. Draco picked up the silent Snape on the desk, and placed him inside one of his pockets. "Well, that was fun. I'm going to get a drink." He stood up and left the table, wand spinning casually in the air.

A moment later he was joined by Granger. "You dirty Slytherin."

"You can't prove nothing."

"You were changing the shade of his colors with each tap on the desk, weren't you?"

Draco smirked as he reached for a goblet of pumpkin juice. "How can you prove that?"

Granger narrowed her eyes at him. "You just cheated."

"I just saved ourselves from an embarrassing placement." Draco corrected. "And they were right there to see it. And I doubt they did. As you said, the colors changed from shade to shade."

"You are a git. A right awful git."

"I'm also a Slytherin, Granger." Draco glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You honestly think that Avery isn't trying to touch up his own block right now? If I could do something like that, so can he."

"Cheaters never prosper." Granger hissed back at him.

"Correction: cheaters who are caught never prosper." Draco felt the little Snape in his pocket squirm a bit. "If I am to beat Avery, I will do what it takes to so."

"Anything?"

"Now let's not be unreasonable." Draco slowly made his way back to his table. "Even I have standards."

Time Stop: Let us know what you would have come up with!

Static: Or if you thought they came up with something completely cliched.

Time Stop: Well, they kinda did...

Static: Please Review!


	11. Chapter 11

Time Stop: We don't own anything.

Wang: Who won? Who's next? You decide!

Time Stop: Wrong franchise, Wang.

Wang: Whoops...

Chapter 11: Task 4 Requirements

When the last of the groups had been examined, the two professors talked in low tones at the table at the front of the room. Granger wasn't looking at Draco, and neither was Weasley. Swallow was looking at his crest still trying to figure out how it turned out alright, while Lovegood was staring straight to Draco's left as if there was a very interesting portrait or a plant next to him.

As for Draco, he sipped his cup and watched the little Snape that paced on the table in front of him. What he had done in order to win the third task was stupid and dangerous. But it had to be done. With Swallow being the weakest link, someone had to pick up his slack. If Granger or the others wasn't willing to do so, he would have to do is quietly when no one was watching.

"May I have your attention?" The old crone spoke just loud enough to carry over the student's speaking softly around the room. She waited for a second as the last of the students stopped talking. "Results will be posted tomorrow, though I will say that it wasn't an obvious choice like in previous tasks."

Whispers ran rampant until McGonagall raised her wand into the air. She flicked her wand, and a set of instruments came up on the table in front of her. Without a word, she tapped her wand, and the instruments played.

It was a jig of some sorts, Draco wasn't familiar with the tune itself. Some of the older students knew it, and they began to boisterously sing about some barmaid and the joy she brought. Others began to stomp their feet or clap their hands to the beat. Draco closed his eyes, and tried to shut everything out.

Then someone was clapping a little off the beat. Whomever it was, they were very close to him, and very loud. He tried to ignore it. Opening his eyes, Draco watched as Weasley tried to clap along. He almost smirked, but the pain was unbearable. Keeping a good tempo had been ingrained into him as a child. This was positively torturous.

Far later than he would like, the song was over and everyone was clapping. He looked up at McGonagall and saw her watching him. He narrowed his eyes and stared at her. She looked away after a moment, and looked out around the room.

"I'm glad to see that most of you enjoyed that." She glanced directly at Draco before returning to look at the rest of the room. "This is your next task. Charming everyday objects is something that you are learning in your classes. However, charming musical instruments to perform a song is much more difficult. Your next task is to charm instruments to perform a song of your choice."

The room was quieter than ever before. Hogwarts had a choir, but one that performed maybe twice a year, as far as Draco remembered. Musical talent wasn't as big as it was in the old days and it wasn't as pushed as it had been in his parent's time or his grandparent's time. He could hardly speculate how many people could actually hold a tune or a beat.

"Each team member must charm an instrument, or sing into a microphone and have it play it back. Your task is to take place the eve before most of you leave Hogwarts for our Christmas break. That said, this task will be judged not only by staff, but by your fellow peers."

More silence. Draco glanced Granger's way, and already her mind was racing. Whatever was going on in her head, it wasn't good for him. He shivered, and glanced back at the old crone.

"You have the rest of the morning to discuss. Lunch will be on time as usual today, and your afternoon classes will take place as normal. Once you have your song choice and instruments decided, please see Professor Flitwick, and he will give you a miniature version of your chosen instrument. Simply reverse the charm upon it to bring it back to full size. If you do not choose today, that is fine. You have just over a month to prepare. So use your time wisely."

She looked out over the crowd. "That is all, you are dismissed."

No one moved from their team tables, but instead began to clamor. Draco rolled his eyes, and settled into his chair. He looked out at his teammates, all of them still silent. Lovegood was staring at the ceiling now, and Granger was still deep in thought. Weasley stared at the table and Swallow looked like his birthday came early. He groaned softly, and closed his eyes. Whatever they had planned, it wasn't going to be good.

And that song, why did that old crone play that song?

No, he didn't recognize the song. But, the contents in which some of the students sang drew certain parallels that he didn't want to think about. He thought about his daughter instead, and how she would be with the house elf right now. He smiled a little. If he managed to get through this mess, he would be able to see Elizabeth sooner than later. He might be able to visit her before lunch.

"Ready to join us, Malfoy?" Granger asked.

He opened an eye, and all of them were staring at him. "I am if you are done looking all petrified, Granger." He sat up and placed his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. "So, what's your brilliant plan?"

"Well, there are two ways that we can charm instruments. Professor Flitwick explained to us the process back in fifth year, but we haven't actually performed the spell yet."

"So we need to do some research of our own." Lovegood said.

"I actually had done some research before, well, back in fifth year." Granger smiled. "But I never actually did the practical side of things, only the theory."

"It's better than nothing," Swallow said eagerly. "What do you know?"

"Well, the first way to charm the instruments is to play the instruments. We can charm the instrument to record what we play, and they will play what we had initially played on them note for note."

"Intensity too?" Swallow asked.

"Yes, at least, in theory." Granger frowned. "The other way is to tell the instrument what notes to play, and the instrument will play it then."

"But that doesn't sound any better," Swallow complained. "It makes it seem like the timing could be off or the notes to be played incorrectly."

"And what would you know about music?" Draco drawled. He looked pointedly at the young man. "Do you know anything at all?"

"I can sing, and well." Swallow's chest puffed out in pride. "I know enough about music to know that it is better if we play on the instrument and have it repeat it back. It won't be the same as a live performance but it would be the closest thing to having it be the real thing."

Draco looked away, and stared at the table.

"Okay, so Sebastian can sing." Granger said slowly. "Does anyone else know any instruments?"

Weasley shook her head. "Celestina Warbeck was all mum played around the house. I took not to listen after a while."

Lovegood nodded as if understanding completely. "Warbeck's only as good as she is because she's a Veela."

Draco hid a groan, as Granger brought a hand to her mouth to hide a grin. Weasley blinked a few times while Swallow looked utterly confused.

"A Veela?" He asked. "What's –"

"Luna, do you play anything?" Granger interjected quickly.

Lovegood turned to Granger. "Oh, only a bit. Mother played the guitar with me a little bit when I was very young."

Swallow smiled wide. "Great, that's good! Hermione?"

"I played the violin until third year. I stopped because of the class load." Granger turned to Draco. "And does Malfoy know anything?"

"What kind of plebian do you think I am, Granger?" He smirked. "I learned te piano from a young age."

Swallow leaned in, and Draco eyed him. The Hufflepuff leaned back, realizing quickly he crossed a line. "But what kind of piano can you play? Is it only classical?"

"Beethoven was a great wizard, when it came to magic and when it came to music." Draco leaned back in his chair and spoke slowly. "Yes, I learned to play the classics, but that doesn't mean I can't play other genres. What do you take me for? I'm a Malfoy, I can do it."

"Sure you can," Weasley smirked at him.

"At least I can play an instrument, Weasley. You can't even keep a beat."

She blushed horribly. "I can learn. At least that's teachable, unlike your manners."

Granger coughed just loud enough to get both of their attentions. "Not now," she said quickly. "More importantly, what song do we play?"

Swallow leaned forward. "What kind of genre do you have in mind?"

"I don't know, it has to be one that we all can play."

"I think we can get that down pretty well," Swallow said. "I can sing almost anything."

"Almost?" Weasley asked.

"Preferably in English," he smiled. "I could do like, Frenh, but I don't think that would get the crowd's reaction."

Granger nodded. "We do have to get the crowd's reaction, if we want to win."

"So maybe an upbeat song?" Swallow suggested. "Like an Irish jig or something or the like?"

"I don't know," Lovegood said softly. "I think we could do really well with something softer."

Granger nodded slowly. "If we do play something a little slower and softer, we could stand out from the crowd."

Swallow shook his head. "Remember, this is going to be a cover song competition too. There are plenty of songs out there that are going to be played. We'll need to choose one that is going to be remembered by those out there, but also one that is going to stand out."

"Easier said than done." Granger said. "I think we'll stand out if we play something slower and softer. It'll showcase our musical talent and it'll also stand out from something loud."

"And do you think that all is going to be played would be loud?" Swallow asked.

"Not everything," Granger shook her head. "But most of it. Get the audience pumped up with the music would be one way to win. But if we have their attention spellbound with something slow and ballad-y, then that would work."

Weasley shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me. As long as someone could teach me how to play."

Swallow grinned. "I know the perfect instrument for you, Ginny. All we have to do is for you to keep a beat."

Draco groaned. "Lovely. Just lovely."

"Don't worry, Mafoy, you won't be teaching her." Swallow glanced his way.

"I didn't plan on it." He looked down at the miniature Snape that was now sitting and dangling its legs over the edge of the table. "What song are we playing?"

"Well, I have an idea."

"What now, Swallow?" Draco looked at the young man. "Cause I thought you were all out of ideas."

Granger shot him a dark look. "What song do you suggest, Sebastian?" She asked him.

The Hufflepuff ignored Draco. "It's a slower song, and certainly complex if we do it right." He started tapping on the table. "It's from a band in America, I only heard of them for the first time over the summer."

"What are they called?" Lovegood asked.

"Nine Inch Nails."

"I like it." She said.

"That's a muggle band name?" Draco asked. "Doesn't sound like they'll come up with anything slow and soft."

"I never said soft, Malfoy." Swallow looked at him. "Their song is called Hurt. It came out in like, '94 or so."

"And is it a good song?" Granger asked.

"I can sing it for you if you'd like," Swallow said. "I've already memorized the lyrics."

"That might be easy for you to say," Draco said. "But if you haven't noticed, this isn't a one man band. Weasley doesn't even know how to play an instrument, and from what it sounds like all of us need some practice before we could play well." Nods from around the table. "So how can we play some song without having music for it?"

Swallow looked hard at him. "I can get music for us, just you wait. As for practice—"

"One thing at a time, Sebastian." Granger said calming him down. "Just sing us the song and we'll go from there."

Swallow smiled, swallowed, and sang.

Draco had to admit, the kid was good. He was really good. And while he sang softly at the table for right then, Draco could easily tell that the young man could sing loudly and passionately. He was impressed, the boy could really sing. With his chops, they could even win the competition.

However, the song was strange. It spoke of pain and terrors. It spoke of the wonders of this world that were all too temporary. It spoke of the things the man would do just in order to feel once more.

Swallow stopped singing, and the table was silent. Much to his surprise, Draco found himself wiping at his eyes, and bringing away tears.

"Well, if it moved Malfoy to tears it must be good." Weasley teased, and everyone laughed lightly.

Draco shot her a dark look, and noticed that the red head's eyes were moist. Granger's too. Lovegood had openly cried, but could only smile.

"It speaks of lost friends," the blonde said. "It's saddening and beautiful and hopeful all at the same time. I love it."

Granger nodded. "Like Ginny said, if it could affect Malfoy, it would easily win over the entire room. And that's without Sebastian singing loudly and without instruments. I think we should do it."

Weasley nodded. "But we need to practice. I need to practice."

Swallow slumped his shoulders. "There won't be a good place to practice without people noticing. Unless we use the head's quarters."

"There's no way that we are using my room." Draco said quickly.

"No one said that you had to, but you do need to practice." Granger said. "We can use my room, and leave Malfoy in the hall."

"We need to hear more music though." Sebastian hit the table with a hand. "It'll be good if we could see some live music, and see what they do. It'll give us an edge."

"Like we could find that in Hogsmede," Draco said. "I've only seen live music once, and it certainly wasn't at the Hog's Head."

All eyes gravitated to him, and he immediately regretted opening his mouth. Shit, shit, shit, shit! He had just messed up big time.

"You've seen live music?" Granger asked.

"Not at the Hog's Head." Draco repeated. "So good luck there."

"Would they play often?" Swallow asked.

"Every Friday and Saturday," joked Draco. "No, I don't know."

"But could we?" Swallow looked between Draco and Granger. "Could we do it?"

Granger frowned. "We'd have to sneak out of the castle. We'd be breaking about a dozen rules."

"Like rule breaking stopped us before," Weasley pointed out. "I'm in. I want to see how people do it, and see some real music."

Lovegood nodded. "Sounds like fun."

Granger frowned again. "I don't like it."

"Neither do I, I'd rather not break any rules." Draco glanced towards Blaise's table and their deep conversation.

"You'd rather not break the rules? Very un-Malfoy like." Granger said.

"Well, its three to two," Swallow smiled wide. "By popular vote, we want to do this."

Granger groaned. "I disagree."

"For once Granger and I agree on something." Draco leaned down in his seat. "I'm not in."

"However," continued Granger. "I wonder what's got Draco's goat that he doesn't want to break the rules?"

He glanced her way and shot her a look. "Don't even think about it, Granger."

"Can you take us there, Malfoy?" She asked. "You do and I'll conveniently forget about a few things."

"Bribery, Granger? That's new for you."

"It's how to speak the language of snakes," she smiled. "I'll stop bothering you on weekends."

"I'll even patrol more!" Swallow said energetically.

Draco frowned. If Blaise could babysit for him one night, it might be possible. But the last thing he wanted to do was to spend another minute inside that pub. It brought up too many bad memories for him.

However, having Granger and Swallow hold up their part of the bargain would be nice. Another night with Elizabeth. Mornings without Granger beating on his door. He could get used to that.

"Can you get us out of the castle?" He found himself asking.

"I don't think that'll be that easy."

"Please, Granger. You have Potter's Map. It shouldn't be that hard." He grinned. "You get us out of the castle, and I can get us to that pub for a few hours."

"How far away is it?" Weasley asked.

"Far enough that apparition is easier." Draco said. "I'll apparate you in, and out. And only because I'll get another night off and you'll get off my arse, Granger. Deal?"

She was silent for a moment. She finally smiled. "Deal. This Friday."

"Maybe." Draco said. "Let me figure some things out first."

"You better hurry, Malfoy."

Swallow stood. "I'll get the instruments then?"

Granger shook her head. "Wait until after Friday. We might change our mind on some things."

"Fun." Draco stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend my remaining free time with some peace and quiet."

He left the Great Hall, feeling everyone's eyes on him. He needed to talk to Blaise, and soon. But he couldn't while he was still meeting with Longbottom and company. He could wait until that night, and talk to him before the patrol.

He cursed softly, and stopped to sit on a bench.

Why the hell couldn't he keep his big mouth shut?

Shadow: Remember, this isn't set in our modern day. This is taking place right now in 1999.

Static: '98. It's still November.

Shadow: Right, well, it'll soon be '99.

Static: Soon, but not yet.

Shadow: Please Review!


	12. Chapter 12

Time Stop:We don't own a thing.

Chapter 12: Pub Mayhem

"No."

"Please."

"I can't do Friday." Blaise looked at him from across the dinner table. "I've got plans to practice."

"For the task."

"For the task."

"Can we do Saturday?"

"What's the rush, Draco? What's got you so on edge?"

"I've told them I would do it for another night off." He glanced towards Granger whom was watching him pointedly. "Another night off for a night out."

"And what makes you think I won't call you out?" Blaise smirked.

"Because you won't." Draco glanced his way before looking at his plate. "People will start asking questions you don't want to ask."

Blaise smiled wider. "Very true. I can do Saturday."

"Good. I owe you one."

"I know you do."

"Don't forget about the vial." Draco glanced up at Granger before back to his meal. "I won't be there to open the door for you."

"I've got it." He patted his breast pocket.

"Good."

"So what is so urgent about this?" Blaise asked. "What's got you wanting to do this so soon?"

"I don't want to draw attention to myself." Draco looked up at Blaise. "I don't need any of that right now."

"So breaking the rules?"

"To get Granger off my back. If she doesn't snoop, she won't find certain things."

"Ah, yes." Blaise looked to the side, and Draco followed. His eyes lingered on Avery before he looked back at Blaise. "Hence the attention. You don't need certain people around."

Draco nodded once. "More people talking about me, the more the Daily Prophet starts snooping around. My father doesn't exactly have the same sway as he used to."

"The trial." Blaise whispered. "And how's that?"

Draco shook his head. "Nothing. And that's fine with me."

That wasn't entirely true. He had received a letter from his mother a week ago. The first trial had taken place but most of the evidence had been circumstantial. The Malfoy name still carried weight in most Wizarding circles. Even with his father serving time in Azkaban, as his sentence was still being decided upon, there were plenty allies still trying to get him out.

Draco swallowed his food, and looked up at Granger. "I owe you one."

"I'll think of something."

"I know."

"Can you tell me where you're going?"

Draco turned to him and flashed a smile. "Out and about."

The next few days passed quickly, too quickly in Draco's opinion. Every time he saw Granger or her friends in the halls or in the classroom was enough to remind him of what he had to do. And seeing as he shared every class with them, he was constantly reminded. What he wanted in life wasn't to deal with the memories that came with the thoughts of leaving Hogwarts.

But the benefits might just outweigh the negatives, for once. Having another day with Elizabeth would be better than anything. And having Granger forgetting about some of his past transgressions would help too. In fact, as long as she kept away from his room he would be more than willing to go back there.

Saturday night came, and it's close to curfew. Draco slipped into the common room. Blaise and a few others are inside, relaxing and doing homework. Other students were coming into the common room. He went through the room, ignoring the stares. After all, he was never spotted outside his room on the weekend.

He passed by Blaise and went out the room. He strode purposefully, heading down the stairs to the third floor. In front of the statue of the One-Eyed Witch, Granger already stood, waiting patiently.

"You're on time."

"You sound surprised, Granger." Draco glanced about. "It's too open here. The teachers could come down on us at any minute."

"Filch is still on the first floor, and Weber is on the sixth." Granger took out a piece of parchment. "Luna and Ginny are coming now, and Sebastian is on the second floor."

Draco glanced at the map. "Woah," he said in a low voice. "How the bloody hell did Potter get something like that?"

"From Fred and George." Granger waved her wand. "Mischief Managed." The ink began to disappear.

"That was some serious piece of magic, Granger." Draco couldn't hide that he was impressed. "Those Weseley twins might be geniuses in their own right, but something like that? That's out of their league. Who made it?"

"Don't know." He could tell easily that she had lied. But he was willing to let it go as the remaining three party members came down the hallway.

"Alright. Where's the passage, Granger?"

Granger smiled. "Watch and learn, Malfoy."

Taking her wand she waved it over the witch. The hump on the statue opened up, swinging wide to reveal an opening big enough for a human. Draco nodded slowly. She had used wordless magic to open the passage. She wasn't about to give him all the answers, and that was fine.

"This will take us straight to Hogesmede." Granger said. "Honeydukes to be precise. It will take an hour, so let's get going."

"Just how long is this pub going to be open for, Malfoy?" Swallow asked.

"We'll have time." Draco said. "It stays open till two or three."

"Plenty of time." Swallow was the first one in, followed by the rest.

Granger was the last to go, and she closed the hump behind them with a flick of her wand. Weasley lit her wand, and the group traveled forward. The four of them talked amongst themselves, whilst Draco kept to himself at the back. All of them were discussing the music that Swallow had gotten them. It wasn't a complicated song by any means. He would only have to practice once or twice before he could play it without the sheet music.

But practicing would mean not being with Elizabeth. And he didn't want to do that. Though, music was important for babies. He could always play some simple songs for her. That might be good for her. She was four months old already. Four months had flown by as he was stuck in this horrible place doing these horrible tasks.

She would almost be a year old by the time he got out. And he wouldn't be able to hide her from his father. But that was a problem for another time. He could figure that out when they got to it.

An hour passed too quickly, and they found themselves at the end of the earthen tunnel. Swallow lifted the ceiling, and the trap door moved. One by one they climbed out of the tunnel and into the cellar of Honeydukes.

Draco disrobed, and set the garment to the side. They looked at him as if he was crazy, wearing muggle clothing of all things.

"What?" He said. "If we go out wearing school robes, won't they be suspicious?"

Swallow nodded, and began to take his robe off, leaving the under uniform of slacks and dress shirt.

"Hold a second," Weasley stalled Swallow. "Where exactly is this pub, Malfoy?"

"Leave that to me." He said. "But you all better change out of those robes."

Weasley didn't like that as she glared at him. But she took off her robe and set it to the side. The other students did the same. He looked about. They certainly looked like students still, in their matching clothes. But it shouldn't be too much trouble for them.

He reached for the crates in the corner and opened one of them. He brought out five large jars of Fruit Rocks. He waved his wand, and the five jars of candy were changed into five coats.

"Take one, it'll be cold where we're going." Weasley opened her mouth to protest. "It's November, Weasley. You'll need it."

He took a coat and put it on. The others did the same. They weren't heavy winter coats but they were of the lighter fare. With these on at least they didn't look like a bunch of school boys and girls.

"Have any of you apparated long distance before?"

"I have." Granger said. "How far?"

"Far enough." He replied. "Hold onto us, and follow along. Side Apparation isn't that hard to do."

Swallow nodded, but looked pale. Weasley took Granger's and Lovegood's hand. Lovegood took Swallow's. Draco took Granger's hand lightly.

"We'll be apparating a few minutes outside of the pub. Try to keep a low profile."

They nodded once. Draco closed his eyes, and concentrated. There was a distinct popping sound. Everything went black. He could feel himself squeezed tighter and tighter. It wasn't much unlike being squeezed out a tube of toothpaste. He couldn't breathe.

Then he felt the ground beneath him and he took in a deep breath. He glanced to the side, letting go of Granger's hand. Everyone was there. Swallow looked a little worse for wear, but at first glance no one seemed splinched.

"Where are we?" Granger asked. "I've never been here before."

"A little out of the way town." He said. "It's not that far from home."

"Hogwarts?"

Draco didn't reply, looking up into the sky. It was snowing here. And it had just started coming down. He took a few steps forward and the leaves crunched below his feet. Through the trees he could see the pub up ahead. _O'Callaghan's_

"An irish pub?" Lovegood asked.

"Irish owner." Draco clarified. "Regardless, they stay open late and they have live music tonight."

Swallow had regained control of his senses. "Alright! Let's go!"

Draco closed his eyes and tried to hide his frustration the best he could. "Just keep your head down and try not to draw attention." He sighed, opening his eyes and walked forward. "This is a Muggle pub. Don't do anything stupid, Swallow."

He ignored the look Granger was giving him. He led the way to _O'Callaghan's_ door and opened it. It was warm and dimly lit inside. It was crowded inside. The music was loud and boisterous. Draco glanced around.

No one he knew, other than the bartender. Good.

"Grab a table. I'm getting drinks."

Granger grabbed hold of his elbow and put her face next to his ear. "Drinks? Are you mad?"

"When in Rome," Draco pulled away and went to the counter to order.

The Owner/Bartender was a burly, overweight man. He was tall and broad, sporting a huge, curly red beard. He glanced at Draco once before resuming his task. In his hands he had a rag, and he was cleaning a glass.

"Haven't seen ye around lad."

Draco froze for a second before putting the money on the counter. "Haven't had a reason to visit." He smiled, "I need five pints."

The money disappeared into the man's pocket. "I take it ye aren't here to pay respects."

Draco's smile vanished. "I've paid plenty of respects."

"Sure ye have." The man laid out the five glasses and began to fill them. "How's the babe?"

"Fine. She's with a friend."

"I sure hope so. You don't mark me as a man who'd be a terrible father." He pushed the trav closer to Draco. "But you also didn't seem the man who'd run away from a woman."

"I didn't run away." Draco picked up the tray. "There was nothing to run away from."

The Bartender didn't respond. Angrily, Draco stepped away from the bar. It had been a mistake to come here. He should have just kept his mouth shut and forgotten about this place.

He found Granger and the rest by the stage. He sat down with his back to the door, and passed out drinks. Swallow drank his too quickly, and almost choked. The others sipped at their drinks. Draco nursed his as well, and tried to keep as incospicious at possible.

He figured they could spend an hour or so there, and that by then they could leave. Hopefully no one would notice him. Thankfully, the waitresses he spotted were all women he didn't recognize. They were either new, or just women he hadn't had contact with when he was there.

So he settled down to listen to the music, and watch how they performed. He would shoot amused glances to Swallow every so often. The Retardclaw couldn't hold his liquor. He would criticize the group's performance every so often. However, his critiques weren't exactly correct.

He said that one group sounded like horse manure, when in reality they sounded quite good. He mentioned that the guitar solo in one song was unnecessarily loud and unimportant; when in fact the guitar solo had made the song.

For someone with such a good voice, Swallow had no taste in music.

Which brought up some serious questions about his choice in music.

But it was good that the group was there, even with the misgivings that Draco had. The girls all listened to the music, and the critiques that Swallow gave. If they had blindly went to practice and listened to Swallow right from the get-go, they might have made some serious musical mistakes. But now, they had a chance to understand on a base musical level what they could do better.

Weasley was really getting into it, watching the drummers intensely and tapping along on the table as silently as she could. Lovegood was humming along to the music, while Grange watched silently. Every so often she would steal glances at him.

She suspected something. And she was going to bother him about it sooner or later.

"Draco?"

His heart stopped beating. Slowly, he turned behind him. The waitress was tall, blonde, and gorgeous. But she wore too much makeup and she stank heavily of cigarettes.

"Dolly."

"So it is you." She smiled wide. "Haven't seen you since August."

"I have classes." He said quickly. He glanced off to the side and Granger was watching him.

"Is that your new beau?" She asked. "You've certainly moved on quickly."

"I'm not with her." He stood up. "I've overstayed my welcome."

"Damn right you have." She slapped him, and the resounding crack silenced the entire room. "You told her that she meant the world to her. Was that all a lie? You haven't visited her at all."

"I haven't been able."

"You are a liar and a dick, Draco…" she trailed off. "I still don't know your last name."

"It'sh Malfoy." Swallow stood and swayed dangerously. "Draco Mafloy."

Dolly's eyes lit up. "Malfoy? What's that stuck-up, rich kid doing here?" She poked him in the chest. "She didn't deserve you."

Draco acted, not even thinking about what he was going. He pushed past Dolly, and navigated through the very quiet pub. He pushed the door open and stumbled onto the freshly fallen snow. He breathed hard, and ran to the safety of the trees.

This had to be the worst thing he had ever done, Merlin be damned!

He heard foot steps behind him. Whether or not it was Granger and her friends remained to be seen. And quite frankly he didn't care. She could apparate them back. He turned on the spot just as his hand was grabbed.

He squeezed through the toothpaste tube. Only this time the pain was almost unbearable. He reappeared in the basement of Honeydukes. He landed on his back. Granger fell next to him, followed by the rest in a train of falling bodies. He heard a loud heaving sound, and knew that Swallow was puking.

He got up and took off his jacket. It would transfigure back into a jar of candy before too long. He didn't really know what the others were doing, he really didn't care at that point. He opened the trapdoor, and dropped down.

He started down the tunnel at a furiously fast pace. He got about a hundred feet down when he was stopped. He got pushed into the wall, and felt the wand point against his throat.

"What the hell, Malfoy!" Weasley snarled. "What was that all about?"

He was silent.

"Leave him be."

"Hermione—"

"If he doesn't want to tell us, he doesn't want to tell us." Granger said softly. "I will say what he just pulled was extremely stupid. But I'm not going to force him to tell me what he doesn't want to say. Maybe if Ron or Harry did that I would press further. But not Malfoy. We aren't friends, we are just barely even acquaintances."

Draco pushed Weasley back just enough for him to escape. "Welll said, Granger."

"That doesn't mean that I'm not mad." Granger smiled at him. "Don't think I won't remember this." Her smile scared him more than her words.

He looked back up the tunnel. "Where are the other two?"

"Sebastian hurled." Granger said. "Luna is going to take him back to his common room when he is ready."

Draco turned and went back down the tunnel. "The kid shouldn't have downed the whole pint in two gulps."

"You shouldn't have given him a pint."

"And what? I should have gotten him juice? We were at a bar, Granger. We were there late at night. Juice is a dead give away that he was underage."

"At least he wouldn't be like he is now." Weasley muttered, stepping in time with Granger behind him.

"Who knew that Swallow couldn't hold his liquor?"

"Who knew that Draco Malfoy associated with muggles?" Granger said.

He hesitated. "You learn something new every day."

"That you do." He twisted behind to see Granger's smile. "Don't think I won't forget, Malfoy. I will find out sooner or later."

He shivered. "Hell can freeze over first."

"Hell already froze over, Malfoy." Weasley said. "You and Hermione can be in the same room for five minutes and no one dies."

Granger laughed. "She has a point, Malfoy."

Draco ignored their laughter and kept walking. It was going to be a long walk back.

They exited the One-Eyed-Witch's hump and slowly navigated back to the sixth floor. They had bothered him for a bit, but when he stopped responding they stopped bothering him. It was past midnight now, and most of the portraits were asleep. No professors patrolled this late at night. But that didn't mean they didn't take their time going back to the Hogwarts Crest.

The crest opened for them wordlessly, and the three of them entered their common room. Wealsey went off to the girl's dorm, leaving Draco and Granger alone.

"Thank you."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're thanking me? Hell has frozen over."

"For taking us tonight." She amended. "You really didn't want to be there."

"Of course not."

"You won't tell me why."

"Correct."

"And I can't persuade you to tell me."

"They don't call you the brightest witch of our age for nothing."

"Figures." She sighed. "The woman, Dolly, right? Well, she seemed to be rather bitter."

"Of course she would be." Draco sighed. "She probably blames me."

"For what?"

He smiled. "I killed her best friend."

"What!?"

He began to laugh. "I did no such thing, Granger." He stopped laughing. "You should know by now that I couldn't kill anyone."

She was annoyed, and her eyebrows almost connected as she frowned. "You're right. you couldn't kill anyone even if you tried."

He was silent. "Maybe you're right." He walked to the portal. "Regardless, I am not going to tell you anything."

"Understandable. But still, thank you. They needed it."

"Debatable." He said.

He went through the portal and stopped. Granger walked right into him, and he was pushed forward.

"What's your big—"

He lost track of what she was saying. His door was open. His door was open! His wand was in his hand in an instant. He ran in, his eyes scanning everything. They gravitated on Blaise, unconscious by his bed.

Wang: We're gonna be on hiatus for a few months. Pooey.

Shadow: We weren't planning it to happen on a cliffhanger. Honestly.

Static: I was.

Wang: ...

Shadow: ...

Static: Please Review!


	13. Chapter 13

Wang: Answers!

Shadow: We don't own a thing.

Chapter 13: A Past Revealed

Blaise was on the ground, unmoving. Draco flew to his side, falling to a knee as he came to him. He checked the man's pulse. It was beating, but Blaise was unconscious.

"Rennervate." Draco waved his wand.

Blaise's eyes opened. "Oh, fuck. What?"

"What the hell happened?" Draco growled. He got up and looked about the room.

There were scorch marks coming from Elizabeth's room. But the door wasn't opened. He looked to where the scorch marks led, and no one was there. Granger entered the room, her wand out.

"What happened?" She asked softly.

"Get out!" He shouted. He turned to Blaise. "What the hell happened here?"

Blaise managed to get up in a sitting position, leaning against the nightstand. "Stunned from behind, just as I opened the door." He said. "I never even got to walk in."

"He got past the wand access?" Granger asked.

Draco grit his teeth. "Elizabeth?"

Blaise shook his head. "Never got to her." He weakly said.

Draco was up in an instant. The scorch marks mean that his trap had gone off. But that didn't mean that whoever broke in hadn't gotten past.

"Homenum Revelio." Granger intoned. Her wand tip glowed a bright red. "Someone's still here."

Draco opened his door, and went inside.

"You alright Zabini?"

"I've been better, Granger."

"I don't see anyone." Granger said. "What about in there?"

Draco stood over the crib. Elizabeth was inside, sleeping soundly. By the smell of things, she needed to be changed. His heart fluttered, and he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest. She was still here. She was safe. He picked her up and went to change her.

"That's the bathroom, Granger."

"And no one is in here." A pause. "But it still says someone is in here."

"Have you thought about invisibility cloaks?"

"Ventus!"

The sound of wind blew about the other room, and Draco could hear papers and books and everything like that blowing around. The wind came in to Elizabeth's room, but it didn't slow Draco down.

"Nothing. If there was an invisibility cloak, it would have blown off."

"Then no one is here."

"My wand is glowing. There is still someone here."

Draco held his baby girl in his hands. He was done changing her, and now stood just out of the door's way.

"Not in there."

"But what if there is someone in there?"

"Mafoy would have made a fuss."

"But—"

"No one is here." Draco sighed. "Just me and Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth? Who is…" Granger's words trailed off as Draco came into view.

Granger stood by the bed, and she slowly sat down. Blaise was still on the ground leaning by the night stand, but he looked better now than he had a few minutes prior.

"You have a kid?"

"Yeah." He looked at Granger. "You can kill that spell now. No one is here."

"Are you sure?"

"They must have run off after I shocked them." He said. He held her close.

Granger's eyes trailed to the scorch marks. "Just what is going on here?"

"None of your business."

"You should tell her, mate."

"Blaise—"

"And myself for that matter. I like you well enough, Draco, but getting stunned in the back? What's going on with that?"

Draco looked between the two of them. "This doesn't leave this room."

"Of course."

"I want the full truth, Draco." Blaise looked hard at him. "Who exactly was Elizabeth's mother?"

Granger looked at Draco. "I think I have a good idea."

Draco waved his wand, and the vial with his hair in it came out of Blaise's pocket and to him. He took out the hair one handed and put it on the table.

"I put a protective spell that anyone excluding myself would get shocked if they tried to open her door." He pointed his wand at the hair. "Incendio." It became ash within seconds. "And I'm not taking anymore chances."

"Stop avoiding the question, Malfoy. We want answers."

"You want the truth."

"The truth, the whole truth this time." Blaise managed to get up and he sat down on the bed. "All of it."

"You knew?"

"Damn straight." He said. "I was willing to let things slide the first time. But getting stunned puts a real damper on things. I want to know what exactly happened."

Draco waited a moment. Granger already knew about Elizabeth, and it wasn't like he could get the drop on her and erase the memory. She was too smart for that, too good. In any case, if he wanted Blaise's continued help he would have to tell everything. It was time that he came clean. He didn't have much of a choice if he was going to have any chance at taking care of Elizabeth at Hogwarts.

"I'll tell the truth, and all of it. Only, listen until I'm done."

"Deal."

"Fine with me."

Draco swallowed, and gathered his courage. He waved his wand and the door closed. Feeling a little better, he leaned back and looked at her.

"This is my daughter, Elizabeth Laura Malfoy. I met her mother last Christmas. I was having doubts, about everything. I left the manor to get some fresh air. After all, he was there, and I didn't want to be around him too long. I went to a nearby pub, _O'Callaghan's_. There, I was drinking the night away, stewing in my own insecurities. That's when I met Elizabeth.

"She was a waitress. She gave me attention. I needed attention, craved attention. My father was a disgrace to the Dark Lord. My mother was obsessed with making father's life better. That meant I was kicked to the curb. I drank too much and I blacked out. When I came to I was in bed with her in her apartment. We were naked.

"I panicked, and gathered my things. I apparated out of there, and snuck back into my room before anyone was wiser. I went back to school until Easter break. I didn't give her or the pub a second thought. Then you and Potter and friends were captured.

"But I couldn't turn you in. For some reason, I couldn't tell the truth. Before the Dark Lord came, I left the manor. I went back to the pub, lost and confused. I didn't even remember that I had visited there before until Laura was there.

"She was pregnant, with my child. I swore up and down that she couldn't be mine. But she told me that it was mine. She was going to keep the baby, and wanted to know if I was going to be a part of its life. I didn't know what to do. An illegitimate child was one thing, but a half-blood? That would kill me if the Dark Lord found out.

"So I said no and I left. I wasn't going to risk my neck. Then the war ended. I was no longer bound to the Dark Lord, and I had to undergo a series of trials to prove my guilt. Unsure of what to do for the first time in my life, I went back to the pub.

"Now, Elizabeth wasn't the prettiest girl I had seen. She had to be older than me by almost a decade. She was ready for kids and I was just a boy out of school. But she accepted me back. They all did.

"I was a disgrace to the Malfoy name, and for the first time I didn't care. I told her bits and pieces of the truth. That I was on trial for a crime I had committed, and that I was most likely going to prison. I told her that I would support her no matter what.

"When you and Potter successfully rescued me from going to Azkaban, she was the first person to find out. And when she smiled at me my heart broke. For the first time I think I learned how to love. To truly love. It was then when I said fuck it to everything I knew. I would be a husband to her and a father to our child. I wasn't going to run. I wanted to be a man worthy of her.

"I spent all the free time I had with her. I wanted to make her happy. I got what she needed. I practically moved into the apartment she shared with Dolly.

"Then she had contractions. We went to a muggle hospital. There were complications. There was nothing they could do to save her. Elizabeth died that night. She didn't even get to hold her daughter.

"I named her after her mother. Elizabeth Laura Malfoy. But I couldn't keep her at home. My father could be returning home from Azkaban if he was set free. There would be reporters and all sorts. I couldn't possibly hide her forever. Not at home.

"And Elizabeth didn't have any family. She was a waitress at a pub. She worked seven days a week, even a week before she had Elizabeth. She was an orphan. No one would take her child. She would have gone into the system if I didn't take her in. I needed a place for my daughter to be safe. And as much as I wanted her friends to help me, I couldn't possibly tell muggles the truth about myself if I couldn't even tell Elizabeth about myself.

"So I contacted the old hag, er, McGonagall. She refused me. She didn't want anything to do with me. That was until she saw Elizabeth. I think the old crone felt pity for me. In exchange for protecting her, I would have to help and be good. I would have to be Head Boy and work for my place in Hogwarts. If I messed up in anyway, I would be out."

He took in a breath. "That's it."

Granger was silent, her eyes wide. Blaise didn't say anything either, and watched Draco with a newfound light. This was far more than he had told Blaise earlier. This was much more detailed. This was much more raw and intimate. Uncharacteristic of a Slytherin, and uncharacteristic of a Malfoy.

"You can't tell anyone," he said softly. "If this gets out, then this life is ruined."

"Your life is already ruined." Granger replied.

"It's her life I don't want ruined, Granger."

Silence reigned. He held his daughter and rocked her gently. Despite everything that had happened that night, she was still asleep. He smiled as he looked at her. At least someone had a good night so far.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it to anyone."

"How can I help?"

Draco looked up at Granger as she walked up to him. "Sorry, what?"

"How can I help?"

"You have a fever or something?"

"I'm perfectly fine." She smiled. "Let us help."

"Us?"

"Everyone," she said. "Ginny, Luna and myself and Blaise and Sebastian and—"

"And why the hell would I?"

"Because you look like hell." She said. "Even with Blaise helping you, you haven't been able to keep things up, have you? When was the last time you took a shower? When was the last time you took care of yourself?"

He didn't answer.

"Let us help you." She went on. "At least let the rest of the team help you."

"Would they?" He asked softly.

"I think they will." She smiled. "They can help watch her and care for her so you can care for yourself."

"But why would in Merlin's name would you even consider helping me?" Draco shout out as loudly as he dared. "Bloody hell, woman. I'm Draco Mafoy. I'm the worst person in your life!"

"You've changed, Malfoy." Granger said softly. "Think it over, but the offer is there."

"You are a sad, strange woman, Granger."

"Not as sad and strange as you."

She left his room, closing the door behind her. Draco looked at Blaise, who still sat silently. "And what about you?"

"I think you're crazy for keeping this to yourself for so long." Blaise stood up slowly. "Having Granger on your side could be good. But that's up to you. I mean, you opened up to me this year. I know Granger and myself are on opposite sides of the spectrum. But, it might be good." He yawned. "I'm going to sleep things off. I don't want Pomfrey to get any ideas if she spots me under the weather tomorrow."

Blaise left, leaving Draco all alone. He sighed. Taking Elizabeth, he entered her room and closed the door. He set her down in her crib and sat down in the rocking chair. Within seconds he was asleep.

He woke up to her crying. He changed and fed her. He cast the appropriate spells on himself, cleaning up. He cursed softly under his breath.

Granger was right, he needed to take care of himself. He looked down at his daughter. He needed to be there for her. He needed to be a father for her. And that meant becoming a man. He groaned aloud.

He left the room, keeping the door open. His own room was cleaned up. The house elves must have visited. Everything was in its proper spot. Even the disintegrated hair was gone. Though the vial was still there. He opened the door and walked across the landing to Granger's room.

He knocked.

"Granger, you in there?"

She stuck her head out. Her frizzly hair was more a mess than normal. She must have just woken up. "What? It's like five in the morning."

"Can we talk?"

With that said her eyes opened up wide.

Shadow: Took you long enough to write this.

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	14. Chapter 14

Time Stop: Some details to get through.

Wang: Not us, only good ol' Draco.

Time Stop: ...

Wang: What?

Time Stop: "Good ol' Draco?" Since when was he called that?

Wang: Uh, I dunno.

Time Stop: I...what?

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Chapter 14: Task 4

There would be stipulations. The rest of the people in their group could know. That would limit the number of people to five and the teachers. Granger was adamant about Longbottom knowing to, but Draco shut that down. Having Weasley and Lovegood and Swallow knowing was bad enough. Granger was even worse, if that was possible. He wouldn't be able to stand Longbottom. Longbottom would tell someone, if he was told.

Draco couldn't have that.

And he still had to worry about the mysterious person whom had broken into his room. It was only because of his defenses on the inner room that the person hadn't gotten any further inside. Granger and himself had also discussed that. They decided that it had to be at least a seventh year or a teacher.

In order to get through the first layer of defense, the doorway between the Common Room and the Head's Rooms, someone would have to cast a powerful charm in order to trick the door that they were one of the special people able to pass it. That was bypassed of course by Granger's friends, though all of them had a solid alibi except Longbottom. Again, Granger defended Longbottom, and this time Draco had to relent. Why would Longbottom stun Blaise if they were on the same team for months now? It wasn't a typical Longbottom thing to do, so he had to be innocent.

It really did leave only the seventh years or a teacher. Avery was an immediate suspect, but they had no proof. Besides, any invisibility potion used would have cancelled out after taking any sort of spell, which Draco's defenses would have triggered. The person must have left after being shocked, deciding that it was not in their best interest to continue their venture.

Granger also talked to him about lowering the dangerous spells on his doors. Draco didn't relent on that one. Only he and he alone would be able to open that door. If there was someone watching her, he would have to open the door for that. And as of now, the only people he trusted alone with Elizabeth was Blaise and that house elf.

Telling the rest of the team was just as aggravating as he thought it would be. He brought each and every one of them into his room, which Weasley was very suspicious about. He then forced them to swear not to tell. Granger swore first, which prompted Sebastian to do the same. Lovegood and Weasley followed suit. Blaise was there as well, which caused some confusion for them. If there was some important reveal to the team, why was Blaise there?

Draco left the room and brought out his daughter. She was awake and cooing. In the stunned silence he briefly explained what had happened. It was very much a summarized version. He needed a place for his daughter to stay safe while the world was watching his father. Until he was out of school, his daughter would stay with him. Subsequently he also mentioned that someone tried to break in, and that someone was most likely a seventh year or a teacher. In order to help protect his daughter, he needed their help.

The next part of the plan was Granger's idea. He would leave the room, with Blaise holding his daughter. He had been vehemently against this. He would be leaving his daughter vulnerable. Granger had pointed out that if he didn't display some trust to the others, they would never believe him. They had been at a standstill for quite some time, until Granger pointed out one more thing. He needed to take care of himself. The spells he cast upon himself each morning were working less and less. He needed to properly shower and shave. He needed dress himself in clean clothes. He needed to comb his hair and brush his teeth and get a proper night's sleep. If he didn't take care of himself, she had pointed out, he wouldn't be well to take care of her.

Draco had to relent then. He hated the fact that she had hit his week spot. But she was right. He needed to start taking better care of himself. Magic could only do so much. Some things just had to be done the old fashioned muggle way.

So he left his baby in Blaise's arms, and walked away from his daughter. He shut the bathroom door behind him gently. It took everything he had just to walk that short distance and close the door. He stared down at the neatly folded towel, and the change of clothes that some house elf had placed there. It was like they knew that he was going to take a shower today.

He cursed under his breath and stripped. He waved his wand, and canceled the effects of the spells had placed on himself. His eyes suddenly bore deep, heavy bags beneath them. His hair was greasier than Snape's, and his skin looked oilier and dirtier than he had ever seen it before. His face held a layer of stubble on it, thick enough to be called a beard even though it was a misshapen, lopsided mess.

He could feel the weariness set in just looking at himself. He leaned against the sink, and stared at himself for a long moment. He smelled, and he smelled bad. He breathed in deep, watching his chest rise and fall. He looked bad too. When was the last time he had gotten exercise? When was the last time he was on a broom?

He couldn't remember.

He stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water. It stung against his skin, but he stayed in its stream. He hung his head and watched the dirty water drain away. He stayed like that for perhaps too long, letting his skin pucker and prune. He finally began to clean himself, washing himself off with soap. He shampooed and conditioned his hair, which was also growing longer than he perhaps would have liked.

Once he cleaned himself off, he turned off the water and exited the shower. The room was foggy and he could hardly see himself in the shower. He wiped away at the mirror with his towel. He watched himself as he began to dry off. He looked almost like he had before the year had started. He cursed once more.

He hung the towel around his shoulder. He stood on the tile floor as he lathered up foam. One of the few things his father had taught him, (and one of the few things that he still actually used) was how to shave. Despite magic, his father had insisted that he learned how to shave using the muggle way. His reasoning was that he should know how to take care of himself properly, that spells could only take one so far. A Malfoy's standards were far above spells.

How right was his father, and oh did Draco hate that.

He slowly shaved, cleaning up the wild beard upon his cheeks and chin. He considered keeping it for half a minute. But if he were to reappear with a beard on his thin face, someone might get suspicious. Besides, he wanted to draw less attention to himself. He had been clean shaven so far this school year, and so clean shaven he would remain.

Once he shaved he brushed his teeth and combed his hair. He pushed the long strands out of his face. He would worry about it at a later time. He dressed in the clothes provided for him, leaving the dirty robes in the hamper. He took a long look at himself in the mirror. He adjusted his tie, and left the bathroom.

When he entered his room everyone stopped talking. All save Granger whom held Elizabeth. His daughter had taken a liking to the bushy-haired witch, and was tugging at the curls in front of her. He could tell Granger didn't exactly like it, but that she put up a smile to his daughter anyways.

"So?" He spoke softly. "What's the verdict?"

Granger looked up at him. "You look better than you've had."

"Not exactly what I was looking for."

He crossed the room and leaned against his desk. Swallow was sitting on the ground, looking up at the girls. The women were all sitting on his bed, looking at each other. Blaise was like Draco, leaning against his nightstand.

"You're a prick." Weasley said. "You're the worst since Voldemort."

"I don't mind." Lovegood said softly. "She's a beautiful baby."

Weasley's face softened as she regarded his child. "I still don't like him."

Granger cooed softly, wincing as Elizabeth pulled at her hair. "We're all in agreement, Malfoy. We'll help you."

"You will?" He tried to hide the surprise in his voice.

"We will." She reaffirmed. "And it's not like I have a choice either." She winced again. "She likes me."

"So we can practice here, right?" Swallow asked. "We can practice our songs while we take care of her, right?"

Draco frowned. "I don't think—"

"Music helps babies learn," Lovegood cut him off, staring past him. "They also keep away the Woodslumps."

He stared at her, his words forgotten. "Right. Woodslumps." Blaise said after a second. "Well, if you Woodslumps can excuse me, I've got a practice to get to."

He left the room, not giving any of them a second glance. He gave Elizabeth a loving touch as he passed her. The door closed and everyone resumed their look at Draco.

"Fine, we can practice here." He said. "If Elizabeth likes it."

Swallow pumped his fist into his air. "Yes! Let's get to work!"

Draco held his breath, and as Elizabeth began to laugh he released it. It was going to be a long month.

The following weeks they practiced in Draco's bedroom. The tension and awkwardness and angst was heavy in the air each meeting. Each practice held more and more offbeat, out-of-tune sounds that reverberated through his room. And as much as it grated against Draco's ears, it made Elizabeth happy. And that made things almost bearable.

What made things more bearable was that he was getting a decent night's sleep every now and then. And he was taking care of himself more and more now. Elizabeth would be handed over to Granger in the morning as Draco would care for himself. Why Granger? Elizabeth cared for her the most, besides himself of course, and she did live across the hall. Granger didn't even seem to care that much. She accepted it each morning with a wide smile and would hold his daughter and coo and laugh for as long as he needed to shower and freshen up.

The following nights became a bit of a party. Granger and her friends would find their way into his room more often than not. Draco hated it, but he couldn't deny the fact that Elizabeth was loving the attention. Swallow came up occasionally to practice, but seemed afraid of the baby, as if she was a fragile thing and by him holding her he would break her.

That was good, he didn't want Swallow to hold his baby; he would rather a blast-ended skrewt hold Elizabeth than the bumbling Hufflepuff.

Of course, that also brought strain on Blaise's part. He had divulged at one point that Longbottom was put off that Lovegood was around less and less. Draco smirked when he had been told that. It was technically his fault that Lovegood wasn't around for Longbottom to ogle, but he didn't care what that Gryffindork oaf thought.

And of course, they also practiced a few times each week. They practiced late at night on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They also practiced separately every other day of the week. It was Swallow who insisted that, as he wanted to win this one more than anything. Weasley had to practice more than anyone else, which was fine with Draco. She needed more practice time than anyone.

Of course things weren't as good as they could have hoped. While Swallow had a good voice, he couldn't tell any of them what sounded good when it came to their own instruments. And he couldn't arrange music at all. So it fell mostly upon Granger to arrange the music for the team. It also fell upon Granger to teach Weasley how to keep time.

With everyone able to play, (or half play in the case of Lovegood,) their instruments it took more of a creative play to get Weasley trained on how to actually play an instrument. To keep things simple, Granger had decided to let her keep time. She charmed a feather to bounce in time like a makeshift metronome, so that Weasley could hit whatever percussion instrument Granger had set in front of her in time.

If Weasley showed half as much aptitude at hitting things as her older brother George did, she should be fine. At least, that's what Draco hoped. Though he had to admit that even Weasley showed improvement over the short month of practice.

The night before the task they all played together, with Blaise taking care of Elizabeth in the other room. The charm itself was quite simple, the only problem was to play correctly. And, as they were all playing together at the same time, they all needed to be perfect. So, they followed the feather metronome in front of Weasley and played.

And played.

And played.

It took far longer than Draco would have liked. It was far after midnight until Granger was satisfied with all of their performances. By the end of it, Swallow looked like he had lost his voice. Lovegood's fingers were dark red, almost raw. Weasley had a nervous twitch in time with the feather and even Draco's finger's shook from exertion. Only Granger was the one who didn't seem that tired from the whole ordeal.

But, when they listened to their instruments recreate their music, with Draco's piano, Lovegood's guitar, Granger's violin, Swallow's voice, and Weasley's whatever-she-had-hit, it was quite beautiful. Draco had to hide his tears. With this, they might just win.

That following night they entered the Great Hall. It was dressed up like a pub, with circular tables littering the floor. Where the Professor's table sat usually was a large stage, large enough for eight people and their instruments. Along the wall closest to the Slytherin Table was a long bar, with Madam Rosmerta behind it with several other wizards and witches. A large clear space was set up against the opposite side of the wall, where the Gryffindorks would normally sit. Presumably that was where there would be dancing held there.

There was a check in with Professor Flitwick, where each team had to turn in their charmed instruments. From there they were free to do what they wanted. Despite the chumminess of his team, Draco took it upon himself to find the table closest to the door, where he ordered a butterbear and nursed it.

Hanging from the rafters, which showed a cloudless night sky, a large banner was magically strung. It was bewitched to say the names of the team members whom were playing, and the song which they were performing. He had no idea where in the lineup he was in, and quite frankly he didn't care.

"Mister Malfoy."

He turned around in his seat to the old crone. "Professor."

"I believe congratulations are in order." She said. "I was not expecting you to have lasted this long."

"I try to exceed expectations."

"This is for you," she handed him a small, ratty looking book.

He glanced at it. He didn't recognize the title. "What is this?"

"Muggle Fairytales, Mister Malfoy." She didn't look at him, instead observing the four charmed accordions on the stage. "I confiscated this from a certain young man whom had taken it from the restricted section."

"And why would I need this, professor?" He hid the contempt in his voice rather well he had thought.

"Because, Mister Malfoy, I believe a certain someone would like to be read to." She smiled down at him. "I believe this book had been placed in the restricted section accidentally, and therefore doesn't belong in our library. I think you have the best use for it amongst our students, wouldn't you say?"

He didn't say anything.

"Merry Christmas, Mister Malfoy," she said. "Enjoy the performances."

He watched the old crone walk away, heading deeper into the Great Hall. He nursed his drink, and stared at the people enjoying themselves and their music. It would be tough to see who would win this task. When it came to musical talent, it was hard to choose a clear winner. Obviously some people were more talented than others, but that didn't mean that they couldn't also play a good song.

And leaving it up to an audience vote was harder than it would be just leaving it up to Flitwick's or McGonagall's. In any case, all he could hope for was to listen to the music and wait for the soonest moment to go upstairs and return to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth.

She needed more protection than just the simple spells he had on that door. Someone had made it that far into his domain. Someone might make it further into his domain. He needed someone to help keep watch. And going to the old crone for help was out of the question. She obviously didn't like him, but was willing to tolerate him.

And he couldn't ask for the help of Granger and her friends. They all had been gushing over the past week their Christmas vacation plans. Even Blaise was going home for the holidays. The only one whom knew about Elizabeth that could watch her was himself, and he was the only one staying in the castle for the holidays.

He needed someone to help him watch her. He needed someone to help keep watch so that she could be kept safe.

As their song came on, he came up with a wickedly brilliant idea. But of course, as soon as he thought of it all thoughts of it fled his mind. His eyes were starting to tear up, and his thoughts resumed to Elizabeth.

Damn this song and the way it made him feel. This wasn't the first time he could feel tears from this song, and he knew it wouldn't be the last either. And looking around the room, he could see that most, if not all, of the occupants were stopping to listen to Swallow's haunting lyrics.

They had done a damn good job. Merlin's Beard, they had done a good job with it. Even Weasley had managed to do things right. And with the amount of instruments she ended up playing, it made it even more impressive. There was a tambourine, a djembe, and a cajon. That didn't even mention the little chime thing that Granger managed to get her to play right at the end. It was cheesy, but the song was a little cheesy with the way the bushy-haired witch had arranged it.

It worked well enough, he supposed. But he couldn't tell if it would sway the hearts of the people in the room, especially since the previous song had led a rousing chorus of _The Werewolf and The Vampire and Me_. It did stand out, however. And it did leave a good portion of the older students, the ones who saw the war, in tears. It certainly left McGonagall in tears. She was still dabbing at her eyes as the song ended.

He leaned forward, hunched over the small book before him. He stared at this drink and thought dark brooding thoughts. Soon they would be done, and soon he could go back upstairs to his daughter.

And maybe, just maybe, he might be able to be happy again.

Shadow: Damn, Draco, you're being emo again.

Static: Right.

Shadow: I can't believe that we wrote him emo again. I'm not even that bad.

Static: So you say.

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	15. Chapter 15

Wang: Babies!

Time Stop: What?

Wang: Babies.

Time Stop: Ah, babies.

Wang: Babies!

Time Stop: We don't own a thing!

Chapter 15: Happy New Year

The train left the next morning, leaving Draco as one of the few students on Hogwarts. That left him alone with the professors and with a dozen other students. Some of those were orphans. One of them was Parkinson, whom was intent on keeping him to herself despite the distinct lack of contact he had with her throughout the school year thus far. Thank Merlin that he boarded himself in his room for the majority of the time.

The old crone had another present for him. A house elf delivered food to his room three times a day. He really didn't have to leave his room if he didn't wish to, and he didn't wish to. This was the first time since the school year had started that he was able to play with Elizabeth without any restrictions. And that included school work. For some odd reason, the professors had neglected to hand out any work to be done over the holiday break.

Maybe it had to do with recent events and the previous school year being one of the worse they had seen in over a hundred years. Maybe they were just being nice for once. It was hard to tell.

Granted, Draco had a whole slew of back work to get through. Of course he wasn't going to do it. Keeping Elizabeth preoccupied was a much better idea than slogging through three-foot essays and memorizing potion reagents.

And Elizabeth loved the time she was able to spend with her father, at least, that's what Draco thought. She cooed and laughed and settled into his arms for each nap. By the end of the second day, Draco thought that his heart wouldn't have gotten any fuller from the amount of love he was feeling.

But there were still some nagging problems. While he was sure Avery had broken into his room, cursing Blaise in the process, he couldn't be exactly sure. He had no definitive proof. And considering Avery had just finished a month's worth of detentions, it didn't make much sense for the Slytherin to get himself into more trouble. He may be a slimy git, but he wasn't as stupid as Draco would like to think he was. And he wasn't Potter or a Gryffindork. He was most likely going to lay low for a while. At least, that's what Draco would have done if he was Avery.

Not that Draco considered himself a slimy git either, but that's another issue.

While security was tighter now, and while he had the added help of the rest of Granger's friends, there was no way he would be able to keep watch on Elizabeth all the time. He needed someone else. He needed someone to watch his baby when no one else could. Or maybe he needed someone to help watch her when the other people were there. Someone invisible, someone whom wouldn't be hindered.

He had a stupid idea. A stupidly stupid idea. And it might just work.

On the third day he woke up early. The last few weeks of the school year he had slept in his bed, but with classes not in session he had returned to sleeping in his daughter's room. While his daughter slept he went over the plans inside his head, pacing back and forth.

The house elf arrived precisely at 8:05 in the morning. Elizabeth was already up and gurgling. The house elf's crack as he apparated inside the room caused her to stare at the magical creature.

"Morning, Master Malfoy."

"Morning." Draco looked up from his daughter. "Can you do me a favor?"

The house elf was taken aback. "Master Malfoy, you shouldn't—"

"Yes or no?"

"Yes, Master Malfoy."

"Can you watch her for an hour, two at most?"

"Master—"

"I need to talk to someone important. And it's for her." He looked back at Elizabeth. "She needs to be protected."

The house elf was silent.

"If McGonagall gives you grief, tell her to see me."

"That won't be necessary, Master Malfoy." The house elf looked at him strangely. "The Headmistress stated that you would be leaving to talk to someone important, but she was wrong that it would be before classes started again."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "What is it with being Headmaster and knowing every damn thing in the world?"

The house elf shrugged. "Will you be leaving now, Master Malfoy?"

"Yes," Draco carefully picked up his daughter and took her off his lap. He stood up, glancing down at her before looking at the plate of food. "I'll take the toast now, you can leave the rest until I return."

"But it will be cold."

"That's fine." It wasn't fine, but the sooner he left the sooner he could return back. "I'll be back soon."

He left the room, and almost immediately his daughter began to cry. He twanged in pain. At least the house elf was a familiar face for her, and at least he wouldn't be gone long. He practically swallowed the toast whole as he left his room and headed to the common room.

As he thought no one was in the common room. Out of all the seventh years, only Parkinson and himself had remained. Everyone else was a younger year or a professor. It seemed like everyone wanted to return home to their families, especially after such a disastrous war that had reminded everyone that family could be taken away in a heartbeat.

That might have also been why they had won the last task, because while the war was months and months ago at the same time it felt only yesterday. He knew that some of the students still bore the scars of the war close to their hearts. He knew some, like Longbottom, had rose to the top because of the war. He knew some, like himself, had fallen in disgrace.

And his own father hadn't even suffered. At least, not yet. There hadn't been news since the first trial, and that short thing had only lasted a half hour as the jury claimed "unsubstantial evidence".

He exited the common room and hurried down the hall. He headed for the stairs, going for the second floor. The halls echoed with his hurried footsteps. There was literally no one, not even a ghost, to block his way down the stairs. He hadn't walked the halls like this since his late night wanderings back in sixth year. And even then there would be someone like himself up and about.

Now? It was like a ghost town without the ghosts.

He came out on the second floor and stopped in his tracks. Coming towards him, staring at the ground, was Parkinson. Before he could move she looked up and saw him.

"Draco, honey!"

"Parkinson." He tried to keep his voice calm.

He stayed still as she hurried to him, stopping only a few inches from him. Her arms were outstretched, but he gave her such a dark glare she didn't dare try to wrap her arms around him.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"Because I want to."

"You are my fiancé, don't try to hide from me."

"That was a pact our parents made."

"You proposed to me!"

"I was four years old!"

"It still counts!"

"You are insuffereable."

"What, you prefer Granger over me?" She crossed her arms over her chest, squeezing her breasts none-to-subtly. "You prefer that dirty blood over myself?"

"Why would you care? I'm not dating you."

"You are my fiancé!"

"I'm a classmate." He looked down at her. "And my father is likely headed to Azkaban."

"You would too if it wasn't for Potter."

"And I owe him for that." He smirked. "I don't know why Potter decided to vouch for me and I don't care. All I want right now is to keep my nose clean, and keep as far away from the law as possible. And as far as I am concerned this marriage business is off as long as my father is sent to Azkaban."

"His trial's been postponed for almost a month now," it was her turn to smirk. "As long as he's a Malfoy he won't head to Azkaban, we both know that."

He frowned. "I'm still not marrying you, or dating you."

"And why not!" She stomped her foot.

"For one, you're a whiny, spoiled brat." He leaned in. "Two, I've had better sex with a sock than with you. And thirdly, I would rather be with a muggle than with a half-knut bitch whose only concern is blood purity."

She slapped him harder than he would expect her too. Once the stars cleared from his eyes he looked back down at her. She was crying openly, the tears falling fast and without hinderance. Her makeup was running, leaving long darks streaks on her cheeks. It was only then that he spotted the dark circles underlining her eyes. She must have had worse nights than he had.

"I loved you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, that wasn't a lie. I've always admired you, even as children. But now?" She brought a hand to her mouth and stifled a cry. "But now you're even worse than my wildest nightmares. Bloody purity? You think I ever cared about that?"

She ran away, burying her face in her hands. She went up the stairs, and out of sight. Her cries and sobs echoed back down the stairs to him long after she had left the stairwell. He stood there, trying to process exactly what had been said.

He shook his head. "What in Merlin's name is she on?" He swore under his breath.

He gingerly touched his cheek, where it was hot to the touch. It would leave a nice mark. While what he said was true, technically true since that's what Slytherins thrived upon, he hadn't expected to elicit that kind of response. Maybe he pegged Parkinson down wrong. And as much as he didn't care, a bit of him wanted to reach out and apologize. After all, they had been friends and more than that for more than a decade.

But maybe later.

He didn't want her in his life like that, and maybe this was the only way for her to understand that. That bridge had been burned for now, it would take time to find another crossing for himself and her if he wanted to rekindle a relationship with her. If.

He walked forward, tailed by Parkinson's sobs. He stopped in front of the girl's bathroom, and waited a moment. He took in a deep breath and entered.

He heard her sobbing at the far end of the bathroom. He navigated his way past the toilet paper strewn about and the puddles of water. He inevitably stepped right into the water as it enveloped the stalls he had to get to. He stood in front of her stall, and knocked.

"Myrtle?"

The door opened with a bang, and Draco tried his best not to jump. Sitting, or rather floating, on the toilet was Moaning Myrtle. The poor girl had stopped sobbing audibly, but the tears hadn't stopped flowing.

"What do you want, Draco?"

"You said you wanted to talk. Here I am."

"But you don't care about me! No one does!" She flew up and about, zooming through his body and behind him.

He turned about, keeping his gaze on her. "A lot has happened in the past few years."

"You said that the last time."

"It's still true."

"People die every day, everyone dies. I died. What's so—"

"Just let me explain." He raised his hands. "I'll explain everything."

"…Everything?"

"Everything. I promise." He stepped back and leaned against the bathroom stall. "But I need your word that you won't tell anyone."

"Who would I tell?"

Draco ignored the question. "I was on the wrong side of the war, we both know that. However, Potter saved me."

"Saved you?"

"He defended me at the Wizengamot. He testified that I… that I wasn't deserving of what had happened to me, and that I was innocent. Because of that I'm a free man."

"I find that doubtful."

"Work with me here. I am a free man, but I still have things...things that I need help with."

"Help? Why would you ask me for help? Why would I help you after all the times that you have ignored me and didn't visit me? I thought I was your friend."

"You are." He paused. "That's why I need your help."

"That doesn't sound very convincing."

"Please."

"…You never used to beg like this."

"I have my reasons."

"Alright, I'll do it." The ghost moved to float next to him.

"It's a long story," warned Draco.

He launched into a simplified story of the past few years, of how it was with the war and his unexpected pregnancy with Elizabeth. He told of his new daughter, and why he was at Hogwarts and the secrecy he needed.

"The issue is that about a month ago someone broke into my room. I'm worried, I'm scared for her. I don't want her to be attacked or taken or anything like that."

Myrtle, whom had stayed silent but crying the entirety of the story, spoke softly between sobs. "I know I'm a little depressing. And moaning. And crying all the time. But even I know a "good" person when I see one. To be that paranoid? You really do mean it."

"I do. And while Granger and her friends are helping me, I can't rely on them all the time. I need someone who can help me watch her, help keep tabs on her."

Myrtle's sobs grew louder. "Why do you ask me? I don't know anyone that could do that!"

"I'm talking about you, Myrtle."

That got the ghost quieted down.

"You can be hidden, and as long as you're quiet no one will know you are there. Charms and curses can't work against you, not when they don't expect you to be there."

"I suppose…"

"And that way, it could also give you something to do."

Myrtle shifted. "I always wanted to watch children. I just never had the chance."

"And while Elizabeth isn't yours, you can still be a part of her life."

"I don't know."

"Please. I need all the help I can get."

Myrtle was silent, and began to pace. Draco watched her in silence as she went back and forth in front of him. He clenched and unclenched his fists in his pockets.

"I'll do it." She finally spoke. "I could do with a change of pace. And while I love my toilet I so I do love babies."

"I love her too."

"It's in your private room?"

"Yeah." Draco got up from the stall wall, standing up. He reached out his hand. "Thank you, Myrtle."

Myrtle stared at his hand. "Thank you." She whispered.

Before he had a chance to respond she disappeared back into her toilet. A jet of water shot out of the toiler and splattered against his robes. A gurgle, then silence.

He took out his wand and waved his hand to dry the water. He stalked out of the bathroom, cursing under his breath, but not loud enough for Myrtle to hear if she was close by. Never in his life had he done something like that, admit his weaknesses and fears to someone as openly as she. Never in his life had he practically begged for his life. He-who-must-not-be-named didn't count.

And neither did Elizabeth. She had opened him up more fully than anyone else had, including his mother. If only he hadn't met her he wouldn't be like this with the sodden love and weakness. Those weren't traits of the proud and noble Slytherin House. He wasn't for blood purity, but a man had to have some standards in his life.

Of course, that meant if he never met Elizabeth he would never have Elizabeth in his life. Snape's words from months ago echoed once more in his mind. If he wanted to be a better person, he had to learn some form of humility. After all, he was willing to do anything, anything for his daughter.

He turned onto the stairs and went up them, still lost in thought.

But he had to have standards. He was, after all, a Malfoy. And while blood purity had been thrown out the window that didn't mean that his pride had to too. He had to protect the Malfoy name, his name, as well as his daughters. Maybe in a few years when things would calm down, maybe then he could reveal to the world that he was a better person. If he was a better person.

He hoped he would be a better person by then.

He had a whole list of issues and problems he had to deal with first. First things first he had to get out of Hogwarts, and keep Elizabeth safe. Secondly, he had to make sure his father didn't find out about Elizabeth. If he found out about her, he had no idea what would happen to her, or to him. Would he do something drastic? Or would he be more underhanded and subtle if the world was watching him?

He owed Granger and her friends and Myrtle and Potter and Blaise and McGonagall and his mother. Granger and her friends didn't owe him anything. They really were reaching far across the gap to help him out. Myrtle was well… Myrtle, and it was impressive that she was willing to help watch his daughter after the lack of communication between the two of them. McGonagall didn't have to help protect his daughter as much as she has.

He owed Blaise everything for covering for him and watching Elizabeth for so long. He could only hope that he didn't have an ulterior motive. Potter… he owed Potter his life for not going to Azkaban. He really did owe Potter his life. As for his mother, he was lucky that she hadn't ratted out to his father about his daughter. Her mother was always on his father's side. It didn't matter the reason, he was always alone against his father's whims.

Perhaps with Elizabeth around and without his father around that his mother was being nice to him for the first time since he was a young child.

His list of people he owed debts to was growing. And it was growing almost exponentially. He had to settle some of these debts sooner than later. After all, he couldn't be indebted to Potter and Granger for forever. Who knows when they would call for a favor?

And the thought that he would be indebted to people like them made him sick.

He rounded the corner and entered the Hogwarts Crest. Parkinson was inside, and she was curled up on a couch. Her back was turned to him, but he saw that she stiffened when he entered. He ignored her and walked across the room and into the Head's Landing. Inside his room he let out a long sigh, one that he had unknowingly kept inside.

The House Elf came up to him. "Master Malfoy."

"Yes?"

"An owl for you sir."

The owl was on its stand in the corner. It was the family owl. Upon the desk in bright green ink was a letter.

"Thank you, you may leave."

"Yes, Master Malfoy."

With a small crack the house elf disappeared. He glanced to his side room, where Elizabeth was gurgling happily on her back. He clenched his fists and went to the letter. He opened it and read quickly, glancing from line to line. He crumpled the letter and stared at the desk, using his hands to support himself.

His father's trial was put on hold. Until late Spring. Now he had to stay as far under the radar as possible. Or by Merlin's beard, he was royally screwed.

"Happy New Year to me." He whispered softly. "Happy New Year to me."

Shadow: Draco is as moody as ever. I love it.

Static: Perhaps a bit too moody. When Moaning Myrtle makes a good point, then it has to be bad.

Shadow: ...Perhaps.

Static: Pease Review!


	16. Chapter 16

Time Stop: Here's another one.

Static: We don't own a thing.

Chapter 16: Task 5

Their next task happened in early January, during a horrible winter storm. Once more everyone was gathered in the Great Hall. This time, no one was watching, as classes were still in progress. And judging by the crystal balls, teacups, and small cramped tables; Draco deduced that this task had to involve Divination at the very least.

Each one of the teams were cramped around a small table towards the front of the room. Some tables were slightly larger than other ones, and those were taken by the larger teams. For Draco and Granger and her friends they had a too small table. The girls were practically sitting on top of each other trying to fit. Draco found himself sat between Swallow and Granger. Their knees kept on knocking into each other as they tried to squeeze in.

"Today's task gives the combines efforts of Divination and Ancient Runes." McGonagall spoke from the front of the room. "Each team must divine one team member's future, using whichever means you wish. Once their future is divined you may see Professor Trelawny. Based upon your divination you will receive from her a piece of text which is related to your prediction. Some texts will be harder than others, it is based upon the likelihood of the future you have divined. You must translate the text and turn it in to Proffesor Babbling."

Draco glanced at Granger. He knew how she loathed divination, she was practically famous for it, but also knew she was one of the best in the school for Ancient Runes. They might have another chance to score another win. Of course, that depended all upon how the divination went.

"You will have an hour and a half to complete this task. If you have any questions you may ask any of the professors present, though that will be taken into account when it comes to scoring. You will be scored on the accuracy of your translation and how quickly you complete your translations."

McGonagall took one last long look over the room. "You may begin at any time."

The students in the room didn't move. Some began to clamor quietly to themselves, but others stayed quiet. The five at Draco's table looked at each other, not quite meeting eyes. He could see that Granger wasn't willing to do much, at least at first.

"So who wants to be the guinea pig?" Swallow asked, his voice was soft as if he couldn't speak above a whisper.

Granger didn't move, and neither did Weasley. "I can do the divination," Lovegood said. "But I can't do myself."

Lovegood passed the cup to her left. Weasley took the cup and passed it to Granger. Granger passed the cup to Draco. Draco passed the cup to Swallow, and Swallow passed it back to Lovegood.

"Someone has to drink the tea." Lovegood pushed the cup into the middle of the table.

"I hate divination," Granger muttered just loud enough for Draco to hear.

"I'm not doing it." Swallow shook his head. "I can't do Ancient Runes at all, but I can help with the Divination I guess?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake." Draco took the cup and drained it in one long swallow. He set the cup down a bit too hard, making a loud sound in the hall. "There's your cup."

He leaned back as Lovegood, Weasley, and Swallow all huddled around the little tea cup. Beside him Granger had dug out one of her assignments from her bag and was looking over the parchment with a self-inking quill.

"Are you reading those stories to her?"

He glanced at Granger. "What stories?"

"The ones McGonagall gave you."

"Uh, of course?"

"You don't have to lie."

"Fine, I haven't. Yet."

"You haven't. Why not?"

"I haven't had a chance."

"Another lie."

"I don't want to? I took a look at them. They're muggle stories."

"And what's wrong with that?"

He turned in his seat to her. "I'm not interested in teaching her muggle stories." He glanced about as he spoke, trying to keep his voice low. "Besides, some of them are pretty weird."

"Weird?"

"The first one has this story about a girl in the woods who meets a wolf who talks to her. Even for magical standards that's pretty strange."

"Most of the muggle fairy tales are muggles who've seen the magical world and told them to their friends."

"It's still rubbish."

"They're just stories to tell children."

"And rubbish."

"Wouldn't it be good for her to know things her mother would have?"

He gave her a dark look. "No."

She looked almost taken aback. "I just thought—"

"What, that because I don't call you certain words that I'm fine with everything that has to do with muggles." He paused. "I may be more lenient with them, but that doesn't make me a muggle lover like Weasley."

"Sh!" Weasley shushed him staring at him over the rim of the tea cup.

She returned to the divination as Granger spoke again. "I believe very much that you are a muggle lover, Malfoy."

He was silent, and he turned back in his seat away from Granger to watch Lovegood and the others attempt to divine his future. Over Swallow's shoulder he could see Blaise and his team already working hard over a piece of parchment. Beyond them was Avery's team, where they were staring hard into a crystal ball. Avery's back was towards him, but the Slytherin still unnerved Draco. He had to be a part of the mess which had complicated Draco's life, he just couldn't figure it out.

"Do you mind if I borrow the book then?"

"What?"

"Do you mind if I borrow it then?"

"What, so you could read it in your spare time?"

"Well, yes. And to her if I'm keeping her company."

"I don't think that's appropriate."

"I don't think what you've done these past few years is appropriate, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm here talking to you. Give it a chance. I used to read at an old person's home before I started attending Hogwarts during the summer months. They loved it."

"Of course you would have done that." He paused. "What's the real reason?"

"McGonagall gave you that book, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"And she told you how she came to get it?"

"She said she took it from some bloke whom had taken it out of the restricted section…" His voice trailed off. "Oh."

"Exactly," he followed her eyes to the Slytherin two tables away. "I want to know why he had it."

"Wasn't it because it was ancient rituals?"

"It was. What exactly was he looking for? What exactly was important enough for him to risk getting expelled for?"

"Expelled?"

"He only got a month's detention because Professor Slughorn was being lenient. Though McGonagall was ready to throw him out of Hogwarts."

"Interesting."

"Considering the political climate, and Avery's own ethics and values, it's not hard to deduce where he lands. McGonagall wanted to make a statement but Slughorn refused to expel such a prolific potions master."

"So how does that relate to the book?"

"Well, McGonagall is keeping the ancient rituals' section locked away in her office. She herself doesn't even know what exactly it was Avery was up to. I've been helping her here and there, but we haven't found anything yet."

"The brightest witch of our age hasn't solved the mystery yet?"

"No, it's that there are no clues. Each book is wildly different and unique. The only thing that doesn't make sense is the muggle book."

"The one given to me."

"I want to take a look at it, thoroughly look at it. Maybe something is in there we haven't thought of."

"Are you saying you could do a better job than the old crone?"

"No," she blushed, "I just think it might do some good to double check it, of course."

He stared as Swallow got up, bringing a piece of parchment with it to Trelawny. "Fine. I'm not going to use it anyway."

"Thanks."

"Just, just let me know if you find anything important."

Swallow returned with a long page of runes, and handed them to Granger. Granger set down her parchment onto the table and focused on the new parchment before her. Lovegood and Weasley crowded around her, squeezing uncomfortably against Draco.

"You got the Grim."

He glanced at Swallow. "So?"

"Just thought you'd care to know."

"I don't care."

"Doesn't it mean that something bad is going to happen soon?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Then aren't you worried?"

"Potter's had the grim each and every time that Trelawny divined his future. And look at him, he's alive and doing well for himself."

"But he's the Boy who Lived."

"And I'm Draco Malfoy." He smirked. "I'm not letting anything control my future."

"But, it's the Grim!"

"And I don't care."

He turned away from the conversation, leaning back in his seat. He wasn't going to let some stupid divination ruin his life. Besides, he stopped taking Divination years ago because those prophecies were all stupid and none of them came true. If anything, he would put stock in what did matter. And right now that revolved around whatever made his daughter safe and secure.

He watched the people at the table. They were all engrossed with solving the mystery in front of them. He wasn't interested in that. In fact, as long as he took care of Elizabeth everything would be fine. And if he had to be with these people to do so he would.

Only it was hard for him to trust Granger and company. She was infuriating as all get out, but she was honest and true and making his life a little easier with her help. He couldn't possibly see her as something like a mother, but she was slowly becoming a friend.

Friend?

How the hell did that enter his mind? Why the hell would Granger make a good friend? This was Granger. This was an enemy since day one. The hate between the two of them was perhaps more well-known than the rivalry between himself and Potter. And yet she had been helping him the past few months. And yet she had been more restrained around him, and him around her. She was…cooling down? Or was he warming up?

And despite falling in love with Elizabeth, a very normal looking muggle of all people, he wasn't at the least interested in Granger. First off, she had Weasel. Secondly, they hated each other. And most importantly, the only woman in his life that he cared for right now was his daughter.

He sighed and got up. He navigated his way past the women and stretched out his back and legs. Maybe he should apologize to Granger. He owed her that much, right? Not that he was in the wrong or anything, but he probably did owe her that much. Right?

He shook his head. There was no way he would apologize to Granger and all that. That was out of the question. He looked down at the parchment where Granger was writing down possible translations.

He put his finger on the page, sticking his arm through the three woman and past Swallow. "Isn't this a direct definition of the Grim?" He said. "Granger, what's the definition?"

Granger looked up at him, surprise in her eyes. She glanced between the two parchments, mouthing the words to herself as she went.

"Merlin's beard." She whispered. "How'd you figure it out?" She began to write furiously as she translated the piece.

"You're too close to the trees to see the forest, Granger. And they gave the hint out at the beginning of the task. You're translation depended on the divination that you divine. Make it the definition of the divination and you are all set. It would also explain why some things are more complicated than others. Some translations are longer and more complex than others. This one would be it."

"Dammit, Malfoy." She glanced up at him. "You got lucky."

"Maybe." He sat back down, squeezing Swallow out of his seat. "Just maybe."

Shadow: Another short task done.

Wang: Yay?

Shadow: Maybe.

Wang: Yay!

Shadow: Please Review!


	17. Chapter 17

Time Stop: Another update!

Wang: We don't own a thing.

Chapter 17: A Different Task

Late January found Draco outside McGonagall's office waiting for Granger. The old crone had called together a meeting between the three of them, and for once Draco arrived on time. Granger was the one running late.

He checked his watch. She was running very late. It was a normal lateness for anyone else, but for Granger? For her she was abnormally late. It wasn't anything to do with Elizabeth or her classes or anything of the like. It had to be something else.

He fingered his wand in his pocket. Something was wrong. As much as he hated to say it, something was wrong. He should go check it out. As much as he hated to do so he knew that was the right choice. He took out his wand and twirled it once.

"Accio Granger's Bag." He waved his wand.

He looked both ways down the corridor. Which path was she taking this time? He almost missed the bag as it barreled into his side. He grunted, scooping up the bag. It came from the south, she was taking the shortcut to McGonagall's office.

He took off, stepping lightly. The bag hadn't taken that long to come to him. Either she was right around the corner and he was starting to act paranoid, or something more dangerous was happening. The war had been over for months and months now, but some habits die hard. And as much as he hated to admit it, he had been jumpy since the night Blaise had been knocked unconscious.

He rounded the corner. No one was there like he was expecting it. He spotted a broken ink well on the ground. Had it fallen from her bag? He went down the corridor, aiming for the shortcut. Before he got there a flash of light off to the side caught his attention. It was down one of the side corridors.

He slowed down and backtracked, stepping as quietly as he could. He poked his head around the corner. At the far end of the small dead end stood Granger, her back to the wall. In front of her stood five Slytherins, flanked by the unmistakable build of Avery. Quills and books strewn about the floor. Based from the bump and the quill stuck in Avery's hair, the bag must have hit Avery on the way out of the corridor.

"Just give it up, Granger." Avery called out. "It's six against one. You couldn't possibly win."

"You sure?" She called back. She held her wand out with one hand, her other clutching at one of the books in her hand. He recognized it as the small muggle book he had given her weeks ago. "You have yet to actually do anything against me."

"Small talk for someone all alone." Avery taunted. "Just give up quietly and we'll be nice."

Draco had heard enough. He stepped around the corner, dropping her bag and exposing himself fully. He waved his wand. He had missed, but one of the Slytherins next to Avery was bound up in tight cords and fell to the ground.

"What is this, some sort of American Stick Up?" He drawled. He pointed his wand at Avery. "Since when did you stop inviting me to the party, Avery?"

Avery whirled about, a curse already on his lips. Draco was at the ready, blocking the incoming spell. At the same time Granger exploded into motion. Her own wand flicked back and forth, catching a poor Slytherin off guard as he slipped and fell.

Draco blocked another spell from Avery. Avery and one of his cronies were facing off against him, the other two were against Granger. The one on the ground was getting up, his eyes looked murderous. The last one was still tied up, but he shot pleading looks to his friends whom were ignoring him.

He had to act fast. He blocked another spell, and it ricocheted to send sparks against the wall. He sent sparks himself, shooting off red and green lights at Avery. The man batted them away with a wave of his wand, but it had the effect the Draco wanted. The sparks bounced off of Avery's shield and hit the rising man in the face. He fell back down, clutching at this face and howling in pain.

Draco shot out a trip jinx and it sent Avery tumbling to the ground. He blocked the spell from the other student, this time it ricocheted and a chunk of the wall exploded into dust. He waved his wand, sending a powerful gust of wind down the corridor. The Slytherin standing against him lost control of his wand and it flew back behind Granger.

Draco fell to the ground, Avery's spell hitting him in his legs and sent him spiraling to the ground and onto his stomach. He rolled and dodged a spell from the half-blind man on the ground. He shot out more cords from his wand. He whipped them back and forth, and the cords knocked against Avery and the two men on the ground. The cords tangled on their legs and arms, and Draco pulled hard.

The three men on the ground were brought hard against the stone floor once more as they were pulled closer to Draco. He scrambled to his feet, scampering away from the spells Avery sent at him. Draco pulled hard again with his wand, and the men clumped together. Dispelling the ropes, he waved his wand over them and tied each one of them up in ropes. He looked past the three Slytherins.

At the far end of the corridor Granger stood, her bushy hair even bushier from the wind he had sent down it a few moments before. The man whom Draco had tied up at the beginning of the fight was still down and out for the count. The other two were incapacitated as well. One was stuck to the wall, his chest covered in strands of thick webbing. The other was frozen, his arms and legs locked in place.

"Your bag." He waved his wand and the bag flew through the air to her. "How'd they get you?"

"Thanks for the help." She waved her wand and the quills and books and all that were strewn about were magicked back into her bag. "They followed me, and of course it was only Avery at the time. He wanted payback for my getting him in trouble earlier in the year. And of course, he brought friends as soon as he got me into here."

"You actually listened to the guy?" Draco waved his wand and sent gags into the mouths of the men on the ground. With another wave of his wand he took their wands and they bunched into his hand. "You going soft on me, Granger?"

"I try to have benefit of the doubt for people, Malfoy. It's what makes people, people. And it's what makes me not a Slytherin."

"Obviously only a Gryffindork would fall into this kind of a stupid trap. And that's pretty low, even for you."

"Well, I had the situation under control."

"Oh really?"

"Yes." She smiled as she put the muggle book back into her bag. "I was about to show them what I was made of when you intruded on our lovely conversation."

"Well, your lovely conversation was taking too long. I have a meeting with the old crone with yourself, and I don't wish to take forever in waiting for it."

"So you say." She looked down at the Slytherins on the ground. "What do you want to do with these six?"

"I know a good spot outside."

"Malfoy."

"I'm kidding, Granger. Like I would let them off that easily." He looked down at them. "Take 'em to the old crone, she can deal with them."

"Just what I was thinking."

She waved her wand, and all five men on the ground were raised slightly into the air. The one against the wall broke free from the webbing and hit the ground. He looked up at them with eyes wide, hands in the air.

Draco pointed his wand at him. "You want to walk or float?" He asked. "Choice is yours."

Granger hit his shoulder with her free hand. "He'll walk of course." She waved her wand. "After you."

It was a very strange procession as the eight of them made their way to McGonagall's office. The Slytherin whom could walk, (Jackson?, Draco thought,) took the front. Right behind him was his four friends and poor Avery. Behind them came Granger and himself.

"Still reading that book, Granger?"

"It's interesting."

"Anything real interesting? Or are you as puzzled as I am?"

"I'm just rereading it. A lot of these stories are ones I'm unfamiliar with."

"Unfamiliar?"

"They're not foreign, but they certainly not common stories. They're old, and strange. It's like this book was written hundreds of years ago. I can't even find a copyright on it."

"Copyright?"

"Muggle term."

"Ah." They stopped in front of the giant gargoyle. "Sixth Task."

The gargoyle stepped aside and let them enter the stairwell. It was tricky navigating up the stairs with the five bound and levitating students. But Draco was certainly relishing the shocked look on McGonagall's face as they came through her door.

"What is the meaning of this? Miss Granger?"

"I was jumped by these six students." She shrugged. "Malfoy helped me stop them."

The old crone glanced once at Draco's face before returning her gaze at Granger. "Interesting. I'll inform Professor Slughorn once they are taken to Madam Pomfrey. Would the two of you please escort them to the Infirmary as soon as our meeting is over with?"

"Of course."

"I thought that this would be a longer meeting."

"It's just a revision of your current patrolling schedule, Mister Malfoy." McGonagall tapped her desk and two sheets of parchment flew to them. "Professor Slughorn has been noticing someone pilfering from his private stash of potion supplies. It's happened three times in the past month. I'm simply rerouting Mister Swallow to work down there for the time being."

"Is that all?"

"Yes. Just keep a sharp eye out until we find those responsible." McGonagall cast her eyes upon Avery and his cronies. "You are dismissed."

Granger and Draco exchanged glances. They left the office, trailed by the five floating Slytherins and the lonesome walker.

"Someone's been stealing from old Sluggy's stores? You got some secret plans happening, Granger?"

"Nothing of the sort!" She shot him a dark look. "And it's not you?"

"Believe me, Granger, if it was me there wouldn't be signs of my filching."

She looked behind them at the Slytherins. "Well, let's get them to the Infirmary."

"And then I have to go." He looked ahead to the fallen ink well. "I have another meeting."

Shadow: It's gotta be Avery, right?

Static: Maybe. Not gonna say.

Shadow: ...

Static: Please Review!


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